Losing Love
by tsuki miko
Summary: When Inu and Kag get separated, Kagome ends up losing her memory and almost freezes to death, but the one to save her isn't Inuyasha this time. Could someone new take his place when the simple act of showing some compassion becomes complicated? OC
1. Default Chapter

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Chapter 1

Inuyasha had told her to run, get as far away as possible. She had been reluctant to do so at first, but when her arrows ran out, and with Inuyasha locked in a serious battle with the other demon and unable to protect her, she ran as fast as her aching legs could carry her.

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FLASH BACK

She and Inuyasha had gone off looking for food for that night's supper. Originally he was going by himself, but he was injured from a previous fight and Kagome needed to get some herbs to treat the wounds. They had argued, of course, but after Kagome had given him a good hard pat on the back (where the injury was) he fell to the ground. She won that battle, but they had continued fight until, eventually, they went off in opposite directions. Kagome, deep in thought about what a baka Inuyasha was, stumbled upon a demon feasting on the remains of a recently killed human. It noticed her before she could hide. He stood up and wiped the blood from his face and gave an evil grin exposing one very long fang. 

He looked her up and down and chuckled. '_She is quite the beauty, and looks ripe. This is going to be fun._' He figured he'd begin the game by being charming, so he put on his most charming smile hoping to catch her off guard. 

Her eyes, originally wide and scared, narrowed to slits when she realized what he was planning. 

The demon, quite put out by this reaction, continued to step forward. He noticed his hands were still covered in blood. '_Well there's not much I can do about that, the girl already has me figured out so I guess it doesn't really matter._' He bowed, gesturing to himself, causing droplets of blood to color the ground.

"I am Masimo," he said with a grin. "And you lovely lady, might I ask your name?" The grin became mocking and Kagome glared at him taking a step back. 

Amused, Masimo advanced. "So you're the silent type. That is such a pity. I like women who speak their mind." He took a couple more strides. "They also seem to be the ones who scream the loudest." He smiled revealing both fangs. 

Kagome quickly drew her bow and arrow and aimed at him. 

Masimo, a bit shocked, began to laugh. '_That girl thinks she can hit me?!_' 

An infuriated Kagome pulled the bow taught and let go. She would have yelled something but didn't want to give the demon any type of satisfaction. Instead she shot and prayed. '_Please Gods let it hit!_' 

Unfortunately he was exceptionally fast and dodged it. 

She whirled around reaching for another arrow only to be grabbed by the shoulders and slammed up against a tree. His bloody claws dug into her shoulders painfully almost piercing the skin. 

He had done this before, many times before. The reason he chose to hunt in the woods was so he could pin his victims to a tree and watch them struggle futilely to be free. In such close quarters, and caught unawares, they couldn't mask their fear; it emanated from them. But the best part was watching their eyes. '_They speak to me,_' he thought. '_I see right into the core of them_.' He shuddered at the thought, his body becoming aroused_. 'This girl hasn't shown me her core yet._' He thought excitedly. 

Kagome had closed her eyes at the impact and didn't want to open them, she knew what she would see. She could feel his hot breath quicken on her face. The rancid smell was almost too much for her to handle. '_Oh gods, I'm going to be sick._' She held her breath; combined with her racing heart she was on the verge of passing out. 

Masimo was becoming angry. '_WHY DOESN'T SHE OPEN HER EYES!_' He slammed her against the tree again. A small cry escaped from her and Masimo's heart began to beat wildly, but she still didn't open her eyes. He increased the pressure of his claws, breaking through her skin. 

"OPEN YOUR EYES!" he growled. They sprang open revealing big golden brown orbs, the irises growing larger as she focused on his shadowed face. 

'_Yes! Yes!_' He shuddered again. He could see her fear and desperation. He pushed himself against her, forcing her up to his height. The bark tore at her shirt and scrapped her back, and again she closed her eyes in pain. He licked her face, on the verge of losing control. He desperately wanted to see the look in her eyes, '_To see her core_…' they were closed again and he lost his patience.

The feel of his tongue rake up the side of her face was revolting, and the trail of slick heat made her cringe. Her eyes flew open to meet his. His eyes were glowing green slits and his face was contorted in rage. 

He was just about to grab her face and force her eyes open when they had opened on their own. He stared at her expecting, wanting, to see her exposed. Instead, her entire demeanor mirrored his own right down to the glaring slits. '_WHAT IS THIS?_' his mind screamed. '_She's supposed to be terrified!_' Her eyes held no fear just hate, contempt and disgust. She loathed him and that's the only thing her person emanated. 

Baffled, Masimo pulled back - leaving just enough room for Kagome to knee him in the balls. 

Human or demon, the reaction was the same. He let go of her and fell to the ground letting out a pained grunt. She grabbed her bow and arrows and was about to shoot him when another demon charged her. 

This time she screamed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Inuyasha, who had been looking for Kagome, following her scent, picked up on another: one of a demon. He also detected the scent of blood. '_SHIT! Kagome's in trouble! Why did she have to go off on her own!_'

'_Because you couldn't let well enough be and just enjoy your time alone with her_,' His inner voice accused.

'_If anything happens to her I'll never forgive myself._' 

He had taken off by this point and was getting close. 

Now he could smell her blood as well. He sensed a demon near and just caught sight of Kagome when she screamed. 

He got there just in time to tackle her out of the way. He pushed himself up to inspect her. She was staring up at him dazed. 

When she registered who it was tears welled in her eyes and she grabbed him to her, holding on to him like a lifeline. They stayed like that for a few seconds, silent tears washing her face while Inuyasha's was in turmoil. He pulled her away from him to get a good look at her. She was still crying, tears tracing the same wet tracks and gathering at her chin then dropping onto his kimono. She was in a state of shock. The dulled look in her normally lively, fiery eyes was enough to make his blood boil.

Inuyasha got up and slowly turned to the two demons. He growled deeply, a look of pure hatred in his eyes. 

Masimo had recovered, and, with the help of his partner, was now standing and facing Inuyasha and Kagome. He began to laugh at the two of them, a huge smile broke out on his partner's face. 

"What are you laughing at." Inuyasha growled. Masimo laughed again.

"So, you are Inuyasha, are you not? I have heard a lot about you. The hanyou in possession of the fabled Tetsaiga, and this is your miko able to destroy a demon with a single arrow." His eyes narrowed and his lips curled.

"I can see why you would protect her so. She is quite a piece of work. She tastes as sweet as she looks." He glanced at the somewhat recovered miko and gave her an approving eye. 

Kagome mustered her strength and shot him a loathsome glare. 

He chuckled. 

Inuyasha, however, found none of this amusing, and pulled the Tetsaiga from its sheath. Masimo studied the Tetsaiga for a moment and returned his gaze to Inuyasha. 

"That is a beautiful sword - made from your father's fang," he stated. "I admit that I am very excited to see if it lives up to my expectations." His eyes began to dance with excitement. 

It made Inuyasha want to vomit. He was using up all of his self-control to keep from flying off the handle. 

"All in all this is quite an unexpected surprise. Here I was seeking you out and you came to me. And, if I may say, this battle has started out quite well. You have a real incentive to fight me now. From the little taste I had of your miko, there is no chance I can leave without another."

She could feel his eyes on her, it was like they were boring into her, searching her for something. _'Like before, when he was looking into my eyes._' She tried to hide a shudder. 

Masimo saw and chuckled. "Inuyasha, have you ever tasted her? She is ripe, ripe for the picking…" 

That's as far as he got in his description when Inuyasha attacked. He had never been so enraged, it was overpowering. 

Masimo's larger companion tossed him a sword that successfully blocked the Tetsaiga. 

Inuyasha dealt a series of severe blows but each was blocked, sending sparks flying everywhere. 

Kagome had her composure in check and fired an arrow. It streaked passed Masimo's face dangerously close. He risked a glance at Kagome and smiled. 

"Batabaka. Keep her occupied." He said, grunting from the force of another blow. "But don't destroy her. She is mine." He licked his lips. 

Inuyasha became even more infuriated. "You fucking piece of shit!!! I'm going to rip you apart for what you've done to Kagome!" 

Masimo laughed and their fierce battle waged on. 

With the cue from his leader, Batabaka's eyes, which had been watching Kagome the whole time, danced with excitement. 

Kagome had already drawn another arrow and aimed it at Batabaka. '_If he's anything like Masimo, hopefully his speed will be decreased by his size. Hopefully._' He had the same gleam in his eyes as Masimo had had; they were filled with a disgusting, malicious intent. She cringed, steadied herself and shot. 

Batabaka dodged it; though not as quick as Masimo, he was pretty damn fast. She reached for another and shot again and again, he dodged them and the next two. 

His excitement was overflowing, his eyes took on a feverish glaze as he got closer to her. The anticipation excited him further. 

Kagome frantically turned to find him. As she whirled he came at her. Taken by surprise she shot the arrow off to the side and it connected with his left arm. The blow forced him off to the side where he fell to the ground. 

As soon as realization and pain hit him he howled. 

Kagome thought her head was going to explode it was at such a pitch. She ran from him, towards Inuyasha, to see if she could get another shot at Masimo. She aimed, but they were moving at such a rapid pace she was afraid she would hit Inuyasha. '_I wish Inuyasha would lose his sword and change into a demon so he could rip his body to bloody shreds!_' Horrified by that thought she looked at Inuyasha. '_How could you ever wish something like that!_' Her hatred towards Masimo was so complete it was terrified her. She felt ashamed but was quickly drawn out of her thoughts by Inuyasha's voice. 

"KAGOME! GET OUT OF THERE!" Inuyasha kicked Masimo away and did the same thing to the raging Batabaka who was charging at Kagome from behind. Masimo deflected the blow Inuyasha was about to inflict on Batabaka.

"Your fight is with me hanyou!" He again forced Inuyasha into battle. Kagome had already pulled taught the arrow again and aimed it at Batabaka. His eyes were glowing green and his breathing was heavy and ragged. He lunged at her and she shot at him. Both missed. 

"KAGOME! RUN! GET AS FAR AWAY FROM HERE AS YOU CAN!"

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END FLASH BACK

Kagome had run, and continued to run, all she could do was focus on running. 

She didn't notice when Batabaka stopped chasing her, or when it started to snow. 

She didn't know how long or how far she ran. 

When the snow started to come down harder, and the basic fact that she needed a break, she slowed. Leaning against a tree she tried to catch her breath. '_Where am I?_' She thought bitterly taking in her surroundings. '_The snow's getting bad and I'm already freezing._' She sat down and wrapped her arms around her legs, shivering not just from the cold, but also from the pain in her arms, back and legs. '_I hope Inuyasha's okay._' She rested her head on her knees thinking about what had happened. 

"He saved me." '_Like that's anything new._' "But this time was different, he was different." She looked down at herself then and plucked at the fabric of her top. It made a sucking sound as the wet material was peeled from her skin. '_I'm soaked! I'm going to freeze to death if I don't get moving soon._' She sat for a few more seconds before getting up and trudging on. 

The wind began to blow harder, forcing the snow to come down on her faster. 

There was so much snow Kagome could no longer see in front of her. When she came to the edge of a cliff she didn't even notice. She wasn't noticing much by this point, her body was numb and the only thing she could feel was the tiny needle sting of the driving snow. Then she tripped on a snow-covered root and toppled over the edge, only mildly surprised. When she reached the bottom her mind welcomed the black abyss. 


	2. Chapter 2

Hey there! I'm so sorry for not updating for a really, really long time. You see I was away and then my proofreader decided she didn't want to proof read for me anymore, so I've been going over them as good as I can so please don't hate me for my crappy grammar, etc. I tried my best. Anyway, thanks for the reviews. It really means a lot to me J 

Oh yeah. Unfortunately I don't own Inuyasha; Kagome, etc. so please don't sue me for not putting the disclaimer up on the first chapter. I do however, own the new character so ha! Can't sue me now can ya! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Sorry. I'm tired and really excited to finally be posting this and its all going to my warped little head. So anyway, I hope you like it!

CHAPTER TWO

He had been following their scent all day but after the snow started his usually keen sense of smell was muddled, and he found himself going around in circles.

__

'How embarrassing is this! A demon of stature gets lost and starts following his own scent!' If his face hadn't become completely red from the cold you would have been able to see the scarlet blush creep up from his neck and stain his usually pale skin. He hated that, _'Who ever I picked up that damn quality from I could strangle.' _Both of his parents had fairly dark skin. _'Come to think of it they both have quite dark hair too. Where the hell did I get this color from?'_ He cursed his deep orange hair and his pale skin. 

As a child his damn face was always a dead give away to when ever he had done something wrong and was confronted about it. No matter how good of a lie he had come up with his face always told the truth, _'Well, it was more like the color than anything else.'_

He had begun thinking about all the messes his face got him in as a distraction from the wind and snow, which had become a problem. He was getting surprisingly cold. _'I don't get cold, well not this cold. I can't remember if I have ever been this co…'_ He was struck by a forgotten memory. He had been this cold before when he was young. _'EIGHT!'_ the age popped into his head. He had been playing in the snow when one of the older boys of the tribe had thrown something into the woods. This particular boy had an exceptionally good arm. He had been determined to search out the object, to prove to the boys that he wasn't a weakling, which they so often accused him of being. So he started off on his journey following its scent. Soon the snow started falling again, then it began to blizzard. His nose was too cold and the smell of wet obscured almost every other scent, so when he finally picked up on a scent, thinking it was the objects, followed it for quite some time until he had to stop from the cold. He huddled behind a tree and tried to get his bearings. That's when he noticed it; there were footprints leading all around this particular area. _'I followed my own scent and went around in circles,'_ he thought disdainfully. 

He was pulled from his thoughts when his nose really did pick up on something. _'That smell! It has to be them.'_ He mustered up his strength and took off following the scent of his rivals. 

When he finally reached the spot he was almost blown away, not by the wind but by what he saw before him. It was sprawled out at the bottom of a cliff. Its lower body was turned to the side while the upper half was lying back flat to the ground. Its arms were in an awkward looking position and its face was tilted to the side, all covered in a light layer of snow. He got closer to investigate. The face was very white sporting a set of blue lips. _'It's a woman! A human woman.'_ He took a step back and was almost tempted to leave her there but his mind protested when the image of a woman floated into it. 

This woman had found him when he was lost in the blizzard as a child. She had taken him to her home. She had a daughter who slept with him that night; she had kept him warm. 

"Human or not I can't just leave her here," and with that he pulled her from her place on the ground into his arms. That's when their smell hit him. He had the urge to drop her but then saw the blood on her sleeves and Masimo's signature puncture wounds. _'Those fucking bastards!'_ He gathered he tightly back into his arms and went off in search of shelter.

Inuyasha lay curled up in a ball at the base of a tree clutching the Tetsaiga. His wounds had almost stopped bleeding but he didn't care much about that or the fact that he was cold. _'Kagome! Where are you?'_ his mind cried. Maybe if his thoughts could reach her everything would be ok. She would be safe, and that's how he would find her, safe and sound. She would jump up and yell, "What took you so long?" and glare at him with those eyes, those beautiful warm deep brown eyes. Her eyes were always warm, sometimes they were blazing, and they never ceased to amaze him. He saw himself in them. She didn't see him as some lowly half-demon, half-human, what he saw was acceptance, warmth and love. 

Her eyes comforted him as much as her scent. Both spoke to him in a hundred different ways, told him secrets usually with one betraying the other. Her scent whispered and teased his senses with Kagome completely oblivious to her affect on him. She would get angry with him for acting weird, her eyes would spark and their gaze would fix on one another. Then his face would be driven into the ground. 

Right now he would do anything for her to oswarie him, a hundred times even. _'I would give anything to breathe in her scent and look into her beautiful eyes.' _As he imagined them they turned sad and frightened and alone, she was shivering. He suddenly noticed that he was shivering. _'If I'm cold she must be…' _his thoughts halted there and his whole body tensed. He pulled himself off the ground and started frantically searching for her again.

LATER

He had been jumping from branches to get a better view to no avail, and landed on one not able to support his weight. He was too exhausted to react quickly enough and fell to the ground. There was no pain, only in his heart did he feel anything, and he really wished he couldn't. He could feel his heart breaking. _'Why didn't I protect her! Why couldn't I protect her? It's all my fault!'_ and his guilt seemed to shatter it. 

Inuyasha lay at the bottom of the tree and wept.

The snow stopped and night was fully upon them. The forest glistened in the light of the moon and all was quiet, the only sound heard was the crying of a broken hanyou.

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	3. Chapter 3

Here's the third one. Sorry there so short but don't worry they'll be longer soon and then you'll be wishing I stayed with the shorter ones. 

And I don't own Inuyasha, blah, blah, blah, look. I'm just going to put up this one big disclaimer 

I DON'T OWN ANY INUYASHA CHARACTERS, OK! There I said it. Now are you satisfied! It was the only fantasy I had going. 

I've been robbed! 

I feel so naked.

Okey Dokey, I'm going to shut up now so you won't get scared off and not read my story. Enjoy! 

CHAPTER THREE

_'I know there was a cabin somewhere around here,'_ he thought drearily. He was now tired, wet, and his arms were aching from the weight of the unconscious girl. Not only that, but her condition wasn't getting any better. She had begun shivering at one point but stopped a while a go and he wasn't sure that that was a good sign. She needed to get warm and so did he. Luckily the snow had stopped and he could see where he was going. 

"Not in circles I hope."

The girl twitched a little, then in a whisper said one word: "Inu…yasha." 

He had stopped when she moved and was now staring at her, his eyebrows raised. _'Did she just say Inuyasha? Could she be his miko?' _He had heard about her, both of them actually. They were greatly discussed amongst many demons and humans for that matter. He had also heard that the hanyou and miko traveled with others, a houshi, a demon exterminator, and a couple other demons. _, 'Interesting mix.'_

He caught sight of the cabin and almost jumped for joy. _'Well even if she isn't the miko, she's not supposed to die like this.'_ He reached the cabin and shoved the door open. It was a decrepit sight but he wasn't feeling too choosy at the moment. He closed the door and ceremoniously carried her across the threshold, and placed her by a corner. He looked around for something, anything really to wrap her in, and hidden in the shadows of the opposite corner was the sorriest excuse for a blanket he had ever laid eyes on. He grabbed it up and shook the dirt and dust from it before setting it down by the girl. He pulled her into an upright position and leaned her against the wall. She desperately needed to get warm. He thought back to the woman who had cared for him.

He had almost lost consciousness but when she had removed his clothes and the heat struck him he quickly gained it back. _'She took off my clothes.'_ Embarrassed at the thought of removing the girl's clothes; the blush started to make its way up to his cheeks. _'I don't care! If I don't get her clothes off she'll freeze to death.' _So her set to work, removing her strange shirt. He was surprised to find another type of garment covering her breast. He left that alone for now. Seeing the naked form of a potential, unconscious miko was a bit terrifying. He moved onto her skirt and carefully slid it off. _'There's another one of those garments covering her, ah…'_ He gulped his throat suddenly dry. Of course he had been with women, demon women. _'But they're basically the same just some female demons had tails and things like that.'_

His face blazing, he looked down at the almost nude girl and put aside his thoughts. He found the clasp that held the breast garment in place and undid it. He slipped it from her arms to expose her cream colored breasts, her nipples hard from exposure to the cold. He looked at her then; so helpless, so exposed. He didn't return his gaze to her breasts again until it was necessary to do so. He felt ashamed. He removed the other garment with no emotion and laid her on the blanket. He knew he had to get undressed so as not to freeze himself, but also so he could give the girl his heat. 

The woman's daughter had slept with him that night; she held him to her for the whole time and the heat from her body was equal to that of the blankets. 

He stripped down and laid their clothes out hoping they would dry. He brought one of his less soaked articles of clothing, a shirt, and spread it out on the floor. Then he gently lifted the girl into his arms, laid her down, and lowered himself beside her. He scooped her to him, draped the blanket over them, and wrapped his arms around her to give her his heat. He immediately fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

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Hey again. I hope this longer chapter will suffice for a few days, my weekends pretty busy, but the next couple chapters will be up soon. Also, reviews would be nice, even flames (go easy on me though it's my first fic). I gotta lota stuff to type up so it would be good to know it's not all in vain. Thanks for the reviews I have already received. You guys are what spur me on, so thanks J 

ENJOY!

CHAPTER FOUR

Her whole body tingled with warmth. It was delicious heat. She cuddled closer to the source and was mildly shocked to find the source was solid. She moved her hand to touch it. A wave of pain ran through her arm and she grabbed onto the first thing her hand came in contact with. It moved. 

He had been awake but was on the verge of sleep again when she grabbed him. A bit shocked from her touch he twitched and opened his eyes. He had been trying to figure out what he could say to her so she wouldn't be furious. _'Waking up naked next to an unknown naked man will be quite the shock. I hope she sees this for what it is a rescue, and not anything else.' _He tried to swallow the lump forming in his throat. She groaned and slowly turned around to face him. Further surprised, he waited for her reaction. 

Kagome painfully turned around. She needed to know what the heat was coming from. She tried to open her eyes. _'My eyes, I can't open them! They feel like they're glued shut!'_ she pushed at the object and tried to raise her hands to her face but the pain swept over her again causing her to cry out weakly. The object put his arms around her again and hugged her to him making soothing noises trying to calm her down. 

She was terrified that she couldn't open her eyes, but felt too weak and was so confused that all she could do was cry. Soon the noises and heat began to calm her down. She felt safe and warm. _'I know this safe feeling from somewhere, but something feels different.'_ She moved her arms painfully around the object. It felt like the right thing to do. 

Even more shocked at the reaction he watched her as she burrowed her face into his chest and fell back into unconsciousness with a small smile touching the corner of her lips. He relaxed feeling tired himself and began to follow the girl into unconsciousness.

She woke up again, about two hours later. _'That warm, safe feeling is still here.'_ She held on tighter and cringed. The pain was still there too. She tried to open her eyes again having the same effect as before. As panic struck her again and she pulled away, ignoring the pain and viciously rubbed her eyes. The object moved. 

He had been ripped from sleep to wake up confused, but was thrown into reality when his naked form came into contact with another naked form. She was obviously scared and rubbing at her eyes. He figured he would at least let her wipe the sleep out of her eyes. _'So when she opens them her vision isn't blurred.'_ He wanted her to see him clearly. _'It might help with the realization of her situation.' _

They finally cracked open and she blinked the sleep and what ever else was keeping them shut away, then wiped them a few more times to clear away the blur. What she saw in front of her was a chest, a man's chest. As she moved her eyes upward a man's face came into focus. She stared at him trying to figure out who he was. She studied his face then moved her eyes up further. She was looking for something but didn't quite know what. Then her gazed stopped when she saw two dog-like ears, and a wave of relief swept over her. She didn't really know why this particular attribute gave her so much comfort when nothing else seemed familiar. Still confused she looked back down at his face. _'Maybe I missed something?'_

His eyes were amazing, they seemed to glow in the light, but couldn't figure out why it felt like there was a better way to describe them. All of a sudden another pair of glowing eyes flashed before her; scary eyes. She closed her own and thought _'GREEN. Green, what is that?'_ she wondered. She opened her eyes again to be staring into his. _'What ever this scary 'GREEN' is, it's not him.'_

She looked up to his ears again and smiled, moving in closer to him. _'It just feels right, doesn't it?'_

'WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?' He moved the girl away from him and gawked at her incredulously. It was her turn to look surprised. Her mind raced with questions, most of which she couldn't understand. She looked at him questioningly and swallowed her throat suddenly very dry, and asked,

"What's wrong?" she was terrified of the answer. _'What if this isn't right?' _Still completely dumbfounded, "Do you know me?" was all that came out.

She thought again, questions still buzzing in her ears. _'Do you really know him?'_ She looked away from his confused eyes to think. That's when she noticed that she was naked, and so was he. Even more confused she started looking around. _'Where am I?'_ she didn't recognize anything. She felt a small swell of panic. She looked back to him. 

"Where are we?" For some reason she needed to say we and include him in the question, it was something else that felt right. 

He had gained back some of his composure and when she asked him the question he felt some what relieved. 

"We are in a cabin somewhere in the Akato forest." He was quite certain of that because that was the last area he remembered being in before the snow had started. _'I guess now is as good a time as any to explain this weird situation.'_

"I found you at the bottom of a cliff covered in snow. You were unconscious and half-frozen so I brought you here to get your body heat back up. Uh, your clothes were soaked through so I had to remove them.

"Mine were too so I had to remove them as well, and use this blanket, and share the heat from our bodies to prevent us both from freezing to death." He added quickly his face already ablaze. 

"Do you remember where you were heading?" 

She was still processing the information he had already given her. _'A cliff? Snow? Where was I heading? _I don't know.' She said the last out loud. 

"Were you traveling with any companions?"

She went deep into thought at that and looked back to him; squinting her eyes, her gaze always returning to his ears. 

"I…I don't know." She wasn't perturbed at the fact that she didn't know, just a bit confused. 

He looked at her puzzled face. 

"Do you know who you are?" He knew that sometimes when people hit their head they could lose their memories. _'They usually come back sooner or later.' _She was still looking at him, her eyes growing wider as the realization dawned on her. _'I don't know who I am.'_

The look in her eyes was strange, they had turned a deeper brown but there was no fear in them. He had thought that at the very least she would have done something indicating that she was in a state of panic or shock; something. Instead she blinked, tilted her head and smiled at him. If that wasn't shocking enough she pushed herself up, wincing as she did so, into an upright position. The blanket fell to her waist. The cold hit her and she wrapped her arms across her chest and rubbed her shoulders. Again she felt the pain and the wounds this time. Removing her hands she outstretched her right arm and studied the five puncture marks along with the bruises surrounding them. _'It looks like someone with claws grabbed me.' _She looked at her left arm to find identical wounds. She looked down at the man.

"Where did I get these from." She asked curiously. 

Taken quite aback, he was at a loss for words. _'Here sitting in front of me is a naked girl who doesn't even know who she is, and doesn't seemed to be too worried about that fact, is asking me where her wounds came from? What the hell is this?' _

"Um, I don't really know." He replied baffled. He did have a good idea who gave them to her but didn't really think this was the best time to start discussing Masimo and Batabaka. _'She's naked for god's sake! I think maybe I'll wait until she has some clothes on to start talking about that.' _His cheeks were on fire _'I hope they're dry!'_

His face had turned darker, _'a bit more than his hair.' _she thought. _'I wonder why? It's kind of cute.' _She smiled again and pushed herself all the way up. Shivering from the cold she rubbed her arms again making sure to not hit the wounds this time. 

The cabin looked completely different from this point of view. It was smaller than she thought and though it was dilapidated it seemed to do the trick. As she looked out the small window, which was almost completely covered in frost, she caught a blinding eyeful of snow. She turned away from the window and caught site of clothes spread out on the floor, and walked over to study them. 

"What are those?" She picked up her pleated skirt, now dry for the most part, and held it up in front of her. "Is this mine?" she asked with disdain. 

He had been watching her the whole time with his jaw almost touching the floor. "Yes," he stated. 

She picked up the shirt with the ugly tie. "Is this must be mine as well; it's just as ugly as that other thing." She looked over the remaining garments and paused when she came upon the two very small articles of clothing. She picked them up, curiously turning them this way and that. She turned around to face the man holding up the two pieces of clothing. He shook his head and looked at the floor. She looked them over again, _'How do I get these on?'_ She dropped all of them to the floor except for the small triangular one. _'Well this must go on the bottom.'_ She lowered and stepped into them and pulled them up. Next she grabbed the garment with the folds certain that was for the bottom too. With that done she reached for the shirt, pulled in on and began buttoning it up when the man interjected. 

"That doesn't go on first, uh, the other one does." She took the shirt off and picked up the smaller piece of clothing looking at it doubtfully. It had two things that looked like cups with two strings connecting to a wide piece of material, which in turn connected to the cups. Unable to figure out how to put it on she asked him. Reluctantly, he stood up, wrapped the blanket around his waist, and made his way over to her. 

"Put your arms in between the strings. Uh. No. Not like that." He moved the garment, which she had put both arms into one hole. Slid one arm into one hole, circled around her and did the same to the other. He stopped when he reached the front, and brought his hands down to his sides and looked away. Kagome utterly confused as to how this piece of clothing was in anyway useful had to ask.

"Is that it? You just leave it like that?"

He looked at her and swallowed, hard. He reached for the cups, placed them over her breasts and clasped them together in the front. He looked up to make sure she wasn't furious and saw that she was blushing. Diverting her eyes from his she gave a nervous laugh. She bent down quickly picking up the top feeling more self-conscious now than she had when she was completely naked. 

He reached down for his own clothes, gathered them up and moved to the other side of the cabin. He dropped the blanket exposing his tail. Kagome had just turned around after buttoning up her shirt to thank him, when she saw he had a tail. She stared at it until it was covered by the pants, then watched as it popped out of the hole made for it in the back. _'That doesn't seem right.'_ Still confused as to why some things seemed to fit while others didn't, she turned away and went to the window. _'How does anything seem to fit; you don't even know who you are!'_ Her mind raced with questions and thoughts until it ached, and she began rubbing her temples. 

Now clothed, he walked over to her. She seemed to be in pain. 

"Are you ok?" he reached out a tentative hand to her shoulder. Lost in thought and headache her eyes flew open at his words. Startled he took a step back. 

"Sorry." She gave a short grin. "Um, actually my head hurts." She put her fingers back up to her temples and resumed massaging them. 

"Of course it does." He said a bit embarrassed at his own stupidity. _'She fell on it.'_

"You're going to need some treatment for your wounds. Would you come with me to the castle to receive treatment? The healer there is quite good. She may even be able to help you with your memory loss too." He waited a bit anxious for her answer. His family didn't really hate humans. Humans were annoying and bothersome at times but being demons, they always had the upper hand. _'We're not at war with the humans so bringing one to the castle shouldn't be too much of a conflict. I hope.'_

She didn't want to leave him, she knew that much. He was the only thing that was remotely familiar to her. _'Besides, where else would I go?'_

"Yes, argiato." She gave him a warm smile. 

"We should get moving." She nodded and they went over to the door. Again he had to shove it open then stepped out into the snow, which proved to be knee deep. Thankfully it wasn't very cold with the sun shining. He judged by the suns' position that it was early afternoon. 

"We've been here for a while. It should take the rest of the day to reach the castle but we may need to find shelter for the night if the snow proves to be too much of a problem." He stated, trudging through the snow. He turned around to the girl who was standing hesitantly at the door._ 'No wonder, her legs are completely bare.'_

"If you want I can carry you on my back." He went back, on the way removing one of his shirts, and wrapped it around her shoulders. "So you're not cold." He said giving her a slanted grin. 

_'This has happened before,' _she tried to remember. _'I'm certain that this has happened before, except the smile doesn't fit.'_ She suddenly remembered something and ran back into the cabin returning with the blanket. 

"This will help keep both of us warm on the way, and if we need to stop for the night than we'll already have some cover." She flashed a brilliant smile, quite proud of herself. He gave one in return then turned around so she could climb on. _'Maybe she'll recover sooner than I thought.'_

She draped her arms loosely around his neck and gripped his waist with her thighs. "This definitely feels right," she whispered to herself. Low enough not to be audible to the regular human ear but almost clear as day to a demon ear. Unsure of what she meant by that he decided to forget about it for now and took off. Kagome was feeling so safe and comfortable that she began to dose off despite the chill of the wind. She was loosening her grip on him so he peered over his shoulder. _'Ah! She's falling asleep. I've got to stop.'_ When they landed he decided to stay grounded. _'The snow's not that bad in this area anyway.'_ Fortunately she had been roused when they stopped and didn't fall off. Suddenly her stomach let out a very loud growl. She blushed embarrassed but as if in reply her rides stomach growled louder. They both laughed. 

"I guess we should find something to eat before we starve," he suggested, and Kagome's stomach grumbled in reply. 

He didn't want to let her out of his sight in case she ended wandering off somewhere and didn't remember how to get back. So off they went in search of food. While foraging, Kagome came across a familiar looking plant. He noticed her studying it and went over to her. She was staring hard at it with what he would soon came to call her 'I know this' face. 

"It's an herb that's… used for stopping the spread of poison." She said uncertainly.

"That's right." She looked up at him very proud of herself. _'She looks like a child who has just successfully completed a difficult maneuver with a sword,'_ he thought, marveling at how child like an innocent she looked. 

"You never know, we might need them." She handed them over to him because she had no where to put them. _'That's strange, isn't it?' _She pushed the thought away because everything was strange to her, plus she was too hungry to care about any of that stuff at the moment. Eventually they ended up at a river and stopped for a drink. He knew they were close to the castle because he used to fish in this pond as a child. 

He waded out into the middle, waiting for some unlucky fish to be their meal. He made quick sport of the first group that swam by. 

Kagome had gathered some sticks to use as firewood and made a pile. She reached behind her as if to grab something and was surprised when her hand came back empty. She tried to think of what was supposed to be there when her thoughts were interrupted. 

"Sorry. I hope two is ok for now. The castle's near by so when we arrive I'll have an actual meal prepared for you." He gave her a lopsided smile and set the fish down. 

She got that feeling again. _'He's not supposed to smile.'_

After they spent about a half an hour trying to get the fire started it was decided that they'd stick it out until they reached the castle. Grabbing some berries they took off again, faster this time driven by the thought of food. They arrived at the castle after sundown tired and hungry.


	5. Chapter 5

****

CHAPTER FIVE

"Master! You're back! You're father's been looking for you…" the servant trailed off after Kagome climbed from his back and came to stand beside him. She gave the servant a friendly smile. Taken aback by the appearance of the girl, _'a human girl by the smell of her.'_ Hitomi wrinkled her nose in disgust and looked up questioningly at her master, who shot her a disapproving look in return. 

"Show some more respect Hitomi, this girl has been through quite an ordeal. Now, can you make sure a meal is prepared for my guest and I. We haven't eaten in a while and could use something to rejuvenate our strength."

"Yes master." She bowed her head ashamed, and went to do his biding.

"You'll have to come with me to my father's quarters so I can explain the situation, and see what we can do about getting the healer to look at you."

Kagome, who had been shocked and angered at the fact that that girl had actually wrinkled her nose at her eased a bit at the kindness of his words. She followed him through the crowd of castle dwellers, standing tall while receiving numerous looks and whispers from the inhabitants, and through long stretching halls. Finally after what seemed like a hundred years of walking, they came to an elaborately decorated door, which two servants slid open and bowed to them while they entered. 

"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO CHASE AFTER THOSE TWO! HOW MANY!" The owner of this booming voice turned around to give his son hell for disobeying his orders again. When he completed the turn he found his son standing there with his jaw set firmly, and beside him was a girl who looked more than a tad frightened. _'A HUMAN? I was so angry I didn't even catch her scent.'_ Now that he did he also smelled his sons scent all over her. He narrowed his eyes and returned his icy glare back to his son, raising an eyebrow. Understanding his father's look he glared right back at him. 

"I was caught in a blizzard and found this girl unconscious and almost frozen to death. I found a cabin and had to share my bodies heat with her to keep her from dying, nothing more." His father still a bit skeptical figured he was telling the truth, he could smell no other scents. 

"So why have you brought this girl to the castle?" he inquired. 

"She had fallen and has no memories of her past or who she is. I thought that we could get Naoka to look at her to see if anything can be done. She also has _other_ **wounds that need to be taken care of." This last bit of information was stated in a slightly different tone accompanied by a small hand gesture. His father nodded and motioned to one of his personal servants.**

"Go prepare a room in the eastern wing. The annex." He added as an after thought. The servant bowed and quickly left to prepare the room. With that taken care of he returned his gaze back to Kagome. 

"Woman, you are welcome to stay in our castle as long as it is necessary until your recovery." He smiled. "Hopefully the loss of your memory is only a temporary condition." He said with a very sarcastic undertone. 

Kagome was tempted to give an equally sarcastic retort, _'but where would I go? I don't want to leave him.'_ It suddenly occurred to her that she didn't even know _His_ name. _'Now isn't the time to ask.'_

"I would like to know the name of my lord to thank you for so generously letting me stay in your castle and providing me with aid until my recovery." She said sweetly, bowing her head to mainly to hide her fake smile.

"Excuse me for not introducing myself sooner. I was a bit distracted. I am King of the Kiyoto Fox youkai tribe. I would ask your name in turn woman, but seeing as you are lacking one at the moment it would be an impractical question to ask. I am sure a name will be appointed to you for the time being. Unless you prefer being called Woman?"

_'If I had my bow and arrows I would shoot the bastard!'_ she forced a smile.

"As much as I enjoy being reminded of my sex, of which I am fully aware of, I would be most great full to receive a replacement." The hostility between the two was overpowering. Very aware of this fact the fearful son grabbed hold of Kagome's arm.

"I think the food should be ready by now. Tao will lead you to your room." If looks could kill he would be dead. 

Kagome bowed to the king, "Argiato." She hissed through her teeth and followed Tao out of the room.

__

'I definitely do not want to get on her bad side.' He turned around to face the second scary feature. 

"What a charming creature you've brought back. I thought if you brought anything back it would have been the heads of Masimo and Batabaka, not some insolent human!" The rage that had grown within the king was now unleashed on his son. A battle of words ensued for a good while. 

"That arrogant asshole! How dare he! Calling me woman. I wish I could remember what my damn name was." The memory of her sounding it out to someone flashed into her mind. While she was puzzling over what had just happened with the king, along with trying to remember what was forgotten, her thoughts came to a halt. _'What bow and arrows? I don't have any bow or arrows,'_ that's when she spotted the food.

"Ahhhh! Food, food, food, food, food…" could be heard chanted through mouthfuls. After she was thoroughly stuffed she waddled over to the bed. It was actually quite comfortable. A sleeping garment was folded neatly by the pillow. She slipped into it and kicked the clothes she had been wearing into a corner. 

"Ugh. How could I wear that!" she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Hai?" 

It pulled open to reveal her savior who looked thoroughly frazzled. He looked around the room.

"Father gave you a nice room at least. I'm sorry for the way he treated you. He was angry with me and bringing you here during such difficult times just made him angrier. It's hard to tell who is friend or foe these days." He apologized hoping it would turn her feelings for his father in a different direction. She just sat there looking at him, thinking. 

"What," he asked feeling self-conscious.

"Your name. You didn't tell me what it was," she stated. 

__

'I'm just as bad as my father.' "It's Akage, prince of the Kiyoto Fox youkai tribe." He bowed elaborately a huge grin plastered on his face. It sounded so high and mighty he couldn't help but smile. Kagome giggled instead. 

"And I have no idea who I am, but if you have a name other than Woman, I will gladly go by it," she bowed in turn. They both laughed at this. When they finally calmed down he saw the empty plates and his stomach let out a huge growl. His face turned red. 

"I still haven't eaten anything yet. I guess I'll go see what has been prepared for me, if anything. My father may have cancelled my order." He sincerely hoped not. Put out by this thought he made his way to the door only to be stopped by Kagome. She popped up beside him before he could reach it. A bit startled he took a step back she averted her eyes and apologized. But when she looked back he was surprised at what he saw in them. 

"Will you be coming back?" she asked trying to sound casual, but her eyes were begging him to stay.

__

'Her eyes. They look scared.' He was a bit uncomfortable at how much her eyes told him. _'Her voice sounds casual enough but her eyes betray her.'_

She was actually a bit more than scared to be left alone because of all the hostility the people,_ 'demons'_ she corrected herself, were showing her. _'They might decide pop in and pay me a visit.' _She held back a shudder. _'And I don't have anything to protect myself with.'_ The nagging feeling came back like she was supposed to have something to protect herself with._ 'Plus I don't want Akage to leave, he's the only thing that makes me feel safe.'_

He smiled warmly. "Sure, I'll be back as soon as I'm done eating. I might even be able to sneak something extra back here." He winked at that and left to satisfy his angry stomach. 

Relief washed over her. "Thank the Gods," she said aloud. She walked back over to the bed to wait for his return. 


	6. Chapter 6

****

Well, hello there. Sorry about the late up date, I was going to add this little blurb at the beginning of the last chapter but I forgot (WHOOPS!) I also forgot to add earlier on that Kagome, due to the loss of memory isn't acting quite herself, so if some of the things she does seem uncharacteristic that's why. And please, please, please don't hurt me for my bad grammar, I do try. I guess that's the end of this, oh wait. Nope. There's more. Thanks for the review! More would be nice too!!! 

CHAPTER SIX

Inuyasha didn't want to go back to the other's, not without Kagome by his side. He pushed away his thoughts of her in danger and made his way back to the camp. Relieved not to find them there he set off in the direction of their fading scents.

"INUYASHA! We were so worried. Did you guys get stuck in that snowstorm?" Sango, expecting Kagome to make some snide remark about Inuyasha looked past him to find no Kagome. Miroku also wondering where Kagome was as well was struck by a thought. 

"Could it be that you tried to…" he paused searching for the right word. "Comfort Kagome during such an ordeal and received an unfair reaction?" He had. The lump was still there. "Women can be so misunderstanding." He whispered behind his hand to Inuyasha. He half expected to get whacked, but when there was no reaction he became instantly worried. For the first time he noticed Inuyasha's jaw was set firmly and he wasn't making eye contact with any of them, he just stared straight ahead. 

"Where is Kagome," Miroku asked cautiously. Inuyasha walked passed them. 

"I don't know." He stated emotionless. Shippo, who had gone out to greet Kagome, walked in at that exact moment. 

"WHAT!" he squealed, "Did you run into Kikyo again!" he demanded. Inuyasha spun around his face contorted with hurt and rage. 

"THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH KIKYO!" he spat. All of them scared from Inuyasha's reaction became extremely worried about Kagome. 

"What happened Inuyasha." Miroku asked again. Inuyasha turned away and started looking for Kagome's bag. He desperately needed to smell her scent. 

"Inuyasha, what happened" this time it was Sango. 

Inuyasha having found her bag started rummaging through it, her scent filling the air. "There was two demons and I couldn't hold both of them off so I told her to run." He whispered coldly still rummaging. 

"You didn't find her before the storm?" Sango felt panic when he didn't answer. "You didn't find her!" her voice had risen considerably. 

"The snow covered her scent!" he growled. He found the shards and brought them out, relieved for once that she didn't have them. Shippo, thinking Inuyasha was only concerned about the shards started yelling. 

"Kagome could be in danger or frozen to death and all you care about are the damn jewel shards!" he accused. Inuyasha was furious,

"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT!" He shouted back referring to his lack of knowledge on what state Kagome was in. He shoved the shards back in the bag, grabbed it flinging it over his shoulder, and stormed away. Miroku ran after him.

"Inuyasha where are you going!" he didn't answer. Miroku grabbed hold of his shoulder and turned him around, asking the question again more forcibly. Inuyasha pushed him away resulting in Miroku on the ground with an unstable inu youkai glaring down at him. This time though Inuyasha's eyes were so full of emotion, Miroku realized just how much pain Inuyasha was going through, so he stayed where he was and didn't ask any more questions. With that Inuyasha left to go look for Kagome. 

__

'At least she doesn't have the shards, hopefully the demons wont go after her.' 'Unless she's already dead.' His inner voice stated. He cringed. _'She's stronger than that!' _he shouted inwardly and forced himself to go faster. _'I've got to find you Kagome.'_ He lowered his head feeling tears threaten.

"I need you."


	7. Chapter 7

****

Sorry again, my updates are kind of far apart but they wont always be like that. I just have to learn to type faster. I'm working on it. 

Anyway, there's one part in the chapter where I'm trying to describe Kagome's new clothes. I was picturing something like Kikyo's outfit and so when I say "collar" I'm talking about the lining around the. OK, I still can't explain it. Just think Kikyo's outfit but instead of pants it's a skirt. I hope that helps. 

Th enext chapter is coming up soon, just need to make some adjustments then its good to go. I may even get Chapter 9 up too! 

PS. Reviews are good. Reviews are nice. I like reviews. Hint, hint.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Akage returned to her room balancing a bottle of sake, two cups, and the snack he had mentioned.

Some how he got the door open to find her asleep on the bed. He quietly set down his burden and went over to her. _'It looks like she fell asleep waiting for you, she's still on top of the covers.' _She looked very peaceful, and with the combination of the white sleeping garments and the light given off by the fire she did look like a miko. She was lying on her side, her hands up to her face. Her ebony hair was spread out, a few strands lying across her face. _'She is quite beautiful,' _he thought as he brushed the strands away. Her lips curved in pleasure at his touch but stayed sleeping. He smiled down at her then scooped her up and threw back the covers. She cuddled closer in his arms looking up groggily, smiling again. He placed her on the bed and tucked her under the covers. 

She reached out and touched his arm. "Stay," she whispered barely awake. 

"Hai." He sat down beside the bed and watched as she fell back to sleep looking quite content. He again wondered if she was Inuyasha's miko. 

He watched her for a long time before he fell asleep as well. 

She woke up feeling very refreshed. Stretching she climbed out of bed and stretched some more after she got up. Kagome looked around a bit confused as to where she was. She suddenly remembered the dream she'd had that night. _'It was so strange. I was sleeping outside beside a campfire. There was someone sitting across from me but I couldn't make out who it was because of the fire. _

'It was a shadow, a very familiar shadow.' While pondering her dream she stepped right on a sleeping fox youkai. 

He grunted, rolled away from his attacker and grabbed the hilt of his sword.

Initially confused as to what was going on being in an unfamiliar room threw him off even more. Then he saw her and eased. 

Kagome alarmed at his reaction had jumped behind the bedpost.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Um, well it was really my fault. I was the one who stepped on you. What were you doing on the floor anyway?"

Akage, thinking she didn't remember explained. "Well, you asked me to stay last night, so I did." He ended lamely.

"Oh. Well you could have slept on the bed baka. The floor's not that comfortable." She ended with a smile and a short laugh. 

Akage got up. _'She's so… something. She barely knows me but feels comfortable enough to walk around naked in front of me and offer to share the same bed. This is too weird.'_

At that moment Kagome was in the corner picking up her clothes, looking at them with disdain.

"Is there something else I can wear or do I have to continue wearing what ever this is." She held them out in front of her between her fingers making the most amusing disgusted face Akage had ever seen. He chuckled.

"Do you not like the color green?" he asked trying not to laugh too hard. She shot him a very dirty look, which made him laugh all the more. Still glaring she spat,

"What's GREEN." Annoyed that she didn't know only made her angrier. He looked at her dumbstruck. 

"You don't know what green is!" he laughed again and got a face full of schoolgirl uniform. He picked up the skirt and pointed to it. 

"The color of the skirt is green, and so is the collar of the shirt."

"What's color?" Eyes glaring at the floor her cheeks burning, _'This is so humiliating!'_ Unsure of how to explain what color was he pulled the tie from his hair letting it fall over his shoulders, then pointed to it. 

"The color of my hair is red." He waited for her response. 

"Red," she said thoughtfully.

"Ok. The color of your sleeping garment is white." She looked down and examined her outfit. 

"White." _'I feel like such a child.'_ When she looked up she noticed his eyes. She walked towards him getting very close, and looked at them harder. 

"Your eyes are green, right?" 

Akage, very aware of her proximity took a step back.

"Right, they're green, and your eyes are brown." She paused.

"Is there something else in here that is brown? I can't really look at my own eyes." 

"Right." Embarrassed at his own stupidity he looked around and then pointed to the table. "That's brown." She looked it over. 

"Jeez, my eyes must be pretty ugly." She muttered. 

"Well they don't exactly look like that" he replied grinning. 

"What's that color?" she pointed to his kimono. 

"It's blue."

"That's a nice color. Is there anything blue I might be able to wear?" she asked hopefully. 

"Sure, I'll get you something blue. I'll send Hitomi in to help you get ready. Since you are a guest here I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable and force you to wear something you didn't like." He laughed at the detestable glance she threw at her clothes. "When Hitomi is done I'll be back with some breakfast, then we can go to the healer and see what she can do for you, kay." He gave her a lope sided grin and left. 

Kagome was still thinking about color and all the different ones she saw when Hitomi came through the door. She bowed but didn't look up. She was angry with her master for making her do such a thing. _'If I could have, my footprint would be permanently etched in his face.'_ Kagome interrupted her malicious thoughts. 

"So what do I do first?" wary of Hitomi she wanted to get through this as soon as possible. _'Besides, I'm starving.'_

There was a basin full of water on top of a stand near the corner. Hitomi walked over to it and dropped in a cloth. 

"Wash up. You don't want to smell. Lord Akage has an excellent nose, and mine isn't too bad either. You definitely need a good cleaning." 

Kagome glared and went over to the basin. Hitomi gave her a fake smile. Kagome began taking off her clothes and still felt Hitomi was watching her. _'Yuh. She gives me the creeps.'_

"Would you turn around please."

"Certainly" she replied sweetly. She turned around and waited in anticipation. 

The water was freezing making Kagome squeak. Hitomi shook from holding in her laughter. 

Kagome put her clothing back on and walked over to Hitomi. She carried the basin full of freezing cold water and turned it upside down spilling the contents all over the unsuspecting servant. Hitomi let out a squeak herself, which was all she could manage she was so shocked. 

Kagome put down the basin, picked up her new clothes and walked out of the door to be met by Akage. 

He had already cleaned himself up and was on his way back to see how the two were making out. _'Hitomi was so pissed off that I made her do this,' _he chuckled. That's when he heard the squeaks. 

"Shit. Hitomi, you better not have hurt her." 

He raced down to find a pissed off Kagome. Looking at her and seeing no damage he looked in the room to find a dripping wet Hitomi about to blow her top. He rushed over to her just in time to keeping her from attacking Kagome. After Hitomi calmed down he went to find Kagome, which didn't take him too long; she was wondering about the woods. 

"Where are you going? It's not safe to be out in these woods, a demon could attack you! There not all as nice as I am." Kagome stopped, turned and stomped over to him. 

"How could you send that nasty girl to help me! She doesn't even know me and gets off treating me like crap! STUPID BAKA!" she shouted in the direction she hoped her room was in. 

"You didn't treat her any better." 

She glared at him feeling a bit guilty. He was right after all. 

"Fine. But she deserved it." 

He really wanted to laugh at the fact that she was acting so childish, not to mention the hilarity of the whole event. _'One thing after another. It's going to be a long day,'_ he sighed. 

"Is there a lake or something like that around here?" _'I really do need to get clean. I feel like I haven't bathed in days.' _In fact she hadn't, it was her third day without a bath. She and Sango had taken a dip in a hot spring they had found the night before the snowstorm hit.

__

'She pops up with questions at the weirdest times.' He mused. 

"There's a lake down that way if you follow that trail. It's kind of a long walk. Here I'll take you down." He kneeled down. 

Now aware of her smell she was reluctant to oblige with her new knowledge of his keen nose. She really didn't want him to think she stank. _'Maybe he won't smell you so much because of the wind.'_ So she climbed on to his back, her cheeks flushed, and held on.

They arrived about ten minutes later to what Kagome thought was the most beautiful setting she had ever seen. _'Not that you would know,'_ her inner voice chided. _'Shut up.'_ She mentally retorted. 

There was a cliff, slightly eroded at the top by the steady stream of water that gently cascaded down to feed a fair sized pool that tapered off into a stream, surrounded by lush green forest and large flat rocks just the right size for lazing about on. It wasn't exactly a drop dead gorgeous scene to behold but the peacefulness of it was what got her, and the way the sun was playing on the glass blue ripples of the water took her breath away. 

"Blue," she whispered and smiled. She slid off his back and took a couple steps before she turned back to him. Her hair was wind blown from the journey over and her cheeks held a pink glow. Her eyes, deep honey brown seemed to sparkle and her whole person looked as though it was emitting a glow. Complimented by the small smile she looked very serene. Akage thought she looked like a goddess and stared at her in awe. 

"Argieto," she said quietly and started making her way down to the pool, thankful that he had brought her there.

A while later, when he finally gathered his wits about him he followed after her only to be met by another heavenly sight. 

She was already undressed and had made her way over to the fall where she tested the water with her toe. Pleased that it wasn't as cold as the basin's water she stepped under it, though it was still cold enough to make her squeak. _'This is as good as its going to get,' _she thought bitterly and began washing herself. 

He had looked away when he saw that she was naked, his pain in the ass blush tinting his cheeks, but when he heard her squeak he immediately looked back. He saw she was fine but couldn't take his eyes off of her. 

Her movements were not graceful but she seemed to take so much pleasure in cleaning herself that to him they seemed sensual. 

At that moment she raised her arms to her hair and began running her hands through it, tilting her head back as she did so. His breath caught. _'That has got to be one of the sexiest moves I have ever seen.'_

Very alarmed at how aroused he was becoming, _'Over a human no less,'_ he figured it would be a good time to put some distance between them. He really needed to use his brain for this type of thing; his instincts were not helping him in the slightest. After he had cooled off he returned. _'I hope she's dressed by now.'_ Actually he was praying that she would be. He carefully looked around. 

She was sitting on one of the large rocks in her under garments with her hair over one shoulder stroking it, little droplets dotting the rocks other wise, dry surface. She was looking off into nothingness deep in thought until she heard a twig snap. Startled, she grabbed her clothes and jumped off the rock. _'Damn. I'm defenseless!'_

She peeked up over its edge to see Akage. Even more startled she fell back but was caught by him before she hit the ground. When he put her down she looked up at him and smiled.

"Argieto."

Then, all of a sudden her entire demeanor changed.

"DON'T YOU EVER POP UP AND SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN!"

Completely terrified he could form no words. She glared at him, spun on her heels and walked away to finish dressing. 

"Baka! Scaring me like that," she muttered under her breath while she started dressing. 

"WOW! This is gorgeous!" she exclaimed. 

The out fit itself wasn't glamorous but it was the colors that amazed her. The kimono was a crisp white with dark royal blue cuffs and collar. The skirt was full length, _'I'm so glad it's not short like that other thing.' _It was also blue but a few shades deeper. She put it on and went over to take a look in the water. She was studying her reflection when Akage cleared his throat behind her. A little startled she turned around and glared. 

He smiled. It was actually quite amusing to see her do that. _'Yeah, when she's not up in your face and yelling; that's just scary.'_

"I'm sorry I scared you before," he said gaving her another smile. 

Her glare turned into a look of confusion. _'He's apologizing? But he's not supposed to apologize, is he?' _

"Hey. Are you alright?" He was becoming concerned. Before she looked like she was going to give him an ear full but as soon as he spoke she became confused. 

"Uh, I guess so. Something just didn't seem right," she smiled and waved it off. "Anyway, I was wondering. What color is my hair? I haven't seen many things that are the same color." She was very curious not only about her hair color but she wanted to know about all of them. 

On impulse he reached out and touched her hair; it was still damp and starting to leave wet spots on her shirt. A bit embarrassed he pulled his hand back and reached it up to his own hair. 

"Well," he said removing the tie from it. "Your hair is Black." 

"Black," she repeated.

"Actually I'd say your hair is ebony." At her confused look he tried to elaborate. "Ebony is a different shade of black." She still didn't understand. "See the grass. It's green. Now look at my eyes, they're green but a different green. See what I mean?" She looked back and forth.

"Okay, like my eyes are a different shade of brown than that tree?" She pointed to the nearest one, which was actually more gray than brown. 

"Something like that. I'll try to teach you more about it on our way to see Akiko. There might be something she can do so you'll be able to remember on you own what colors are. Oh." He handed her the tie. "Put your hair up so your shirt doesn't get soaked." After a couple of tries and lots of laughs Akage did it up for her so they could get a move on. "At this rate we'll be here all day." He managed between laughs. Kagome shot him a dirty look and he tried his hardest to stop. When he was done he turned her around. 

"See. Beautiful."

Not trusting his devilish grin she went to check it in the water. 

"Not to bad if I do say so myself." He stated looking pleased. It wasn't too bad at all.

"Where did you learn to do that. Yours doesn't look like that when it's up."

"First of all your hair is longer than mine and secondly, that's a woman's hair style." Kagome arched a brow. "My mother. I, uh, used to watch when the servants did it." His face turned a shade of red neither of them had ever seen and she was about to ask him about it when he suddenly changed the topic. 

"Anyway." He paused for a minute. " We need to give you a name. If you go to Akiko without one she'll name you herself." 

"What's wrong with that?"

"Well, some of the tribe members went to her to have their children named. Akiko is a good healer but her sense of humor is a bit dark. She gave the unfortunate newborns some really awful names, and they couldn't be changed so they were stuck with them. I'm sure you'd much rather be called Woman than something like Tree-stump."

"Tree-stump!?" she considered this, a tad horrified at the thought. "I opt for Woman." She quickly stated. _'Tree-stump! What kind of sense of humor is that?'_ "Do you have any names in mind?" her eyes full of desperate hope, hands clasped in a praying position.

"Hmmmmmm…" 

She straightened herself up trying to look presentable. He looked at her, hand to his chin thinking hard. After a few minutes she was beginning to feel self conscious he was studying her so intently, not to mention nervous. _'What if his name is worse?' _

"AH HA! I got it." He stated triumphantly, making Kagome jump. 

"Midori."

"Huh?"

"Midori." He said smiling.

"But isn't that the word you used for green?" He shook his head still smiling. "Why would you name me Green!" Kagome a bit offended by this put her hands on her hips. 

"It was your first color," he said still grinning from ear to ear. 

"Oh," her annoyance disappeared and she looked up at him touched. 

"I'm glad it was you who gave me a name." 

She took hold of his hand and started walking towards the path leading the shocked prince of the fox youkai tribe. 


	8. Chapter 8

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Hoy, hoy. I thought I would update a bit sooner than usual just because I'm nice and because I might not be able to get the next chapter up for a bit, but I'll try my best. Anyway, I hope you like it! 

REVIEWS! I must have reviews!

CHAPTER EIGHT

When Akiko saw Kagome her jaw nearly dropped. 

"A human! You've brought me a human!?"

"Hey!" he spat defensively, then realizing who he was speaking to quieted his tone. "She's been through a lot." He finished, a pink flush covering his cheeks. 

The old demon glared at him. She was scary enough on her own but accompanied by the glare it enough to send the bravest running off to their mommies. _'Midori's got nothing on Akiko,' _he thought. If he wasn't so scared his knees would have been knocking. 

"The nerve of you to speak to me like that you ungrateful beast!" her eyes glowed red. She was a bit taller than Kagome but very plump. He hair was Grey with silver streaking through out it. Her ears were that of most demons; pointed at the tip, and her eyes, though red at the moment were normally completely white except for light blue iris'. She was quite terrifying. 

Kagome was unperturbed by this - for the moment. She hated being referred to with such disdain like she was lower than scum. She gave the old demon her own glare. Luckily for her the old demon was too pissed off at Akage to notice or she would have smacked the look right off her face. 

"Sorry Akiko," Akage whispered.

"You should be, ungrateful brat. Now why have you brought me a human? Spit it out." She snapped. 

" I found her the other day unconscious, nearly frozen during the snowstorm. I found a shelter and the next day came to find that she lost her memories. She doesn't even know who she is…" He was cut off.

"Of course she wouldn't know who she is, you just said she had lost her memories. Males are all the same. Bakas." She went over to a cabinet and rummaged through, all the while muttering about how stupid the male species were. She grabbed something and made her way over to Kagome taking in her appearance. 

"Have you been given a name yet girl?"

"Yes." _'Thank the Gods.'_

"Well… What is it?" Akage cut in.

"It's Midori." Akiko let out a howl.

"Green!? Why the hell would you give her such a stupid name? Even I could have done better than that! I suppose, your name has to do with color too, Red Head." She concluded speaking more to herself than the others. 

"It doesn't matter. That's her name for now until she remembers her own, which is the reason why I brought her to you. She also has wounds on her upper arms that need to be treated. I know you can help with those but is there anything you can do about the memory loss?" He asked _'I hope she wasn't too offended. Please Gods let that one slide.' _

She eyed him then turned to Kagome.

"Ok. Midori, take off your kimono. You get out of here…" It was Kagome's turn to interrupt. 

"No wait!" she protested. "He can stay." She looked over to Akage panicked. 'Stay,' her eyes willing him to. 

He smiled and turned to the wall.

Wondering what was going on between the two she figured she'd find out soon enough. _'But for now I've got to fix this girl up so whatever it is doesn't escalate.'_

"Fine, stay. But keep you back turned until I say other wise." 

Kagome's tense body noticeably relaxed she was so utterly relieved. Akiko began her examination.

"These Puncture wounds, they're from Masimo are they not." She asked over her shoulder. "Yes." He stated simply. "I could smell him all over her when I found her and I'd recognize those wounds anywhere. It's his style." _'Just thinking about him makes me want to vomit.'_ He clenched his jaw and fists.

"Masimo…" Kagome said slowly. _'That name sounds familiar.'_ She closed her eyes and concentrated on trying to remember something about it. The evil green eyes flashed before her. She shuddered, shying away from the image and opened her eyes.

"It must have been. Midori, do you remember anything about Masimo? You must judging from your reaction." Akiko was becoming very suspicious. _'What if she's lying about not being able to remember anything.'_

"I don't know, I just got a bad feeling thinking about the name." She shuddered again. "Masimo. He's evil?" she felt kind of stupid asking such a childish question. 

Akage had turned around when Akiko mentioned her reaction and Kagome's question was aimed towards him. He nodded in answer. But when Akiko realized Kagome wasn't looking at her she swung around.

"DID I SAY YOU COULD TURN AROUND!" she shouted furiously. 

The whole room shook. 

Terrified he jumped around to face the wall again. Kagome who was equally scared was backing up. 

"AND YOU! Do you have no shame!? You're half naked!" She lowered her voice. "You humans," she began, muttering about the disgraceful weaker beings. She then started ripping up the leaves she had taken from the cabinet. She proceeded to put them in her mouth and began chewing. When she was finished she spat the contents into her hand, scooped some up with her fingers and applied it to Kagome's wounds. With that done she went over to a stand, opened a drawer and pulled out some wrapping. After she wrapped the wounds and Kagome put her kimono back on Akiko was ready to see what else could be done, if anything.

"Look at me Midori." Akiko took hold of Kagome's shoulders and turned her around to face her. "Look into my eyes Midori." 

Very intimidated by the old demon Kagome slowly met her hard gaze. 

"Look deep into them." Akiko's voice became very steady and after repeating the same phrase over again it began to flow, _'like a river.'_ She thought drowsily. Soon it didn't even seem like words were being spoken, it was just the sound of water flowing through a river. Kagome stood there with a vacant stare. 

"Good, she's ready. Now. Midori. Midori can you hear me? She may not answer because that's not her real name." She explained to Akage who had come to stand by her. "Midori." She stated more forcibly. Still there was no answer and Akiko's patience was beginning to wear thin already. "GIRL!"

"Hai." She replied drowsily. 

"Do you know who you are." Kagome shook her head slowly.

"Do you know where you come from?" She waited. "Do you know!?" 

"The cabin."

"Where were you before the cabin?" Kagome shook her head again. "Were you travelling with anyone?" The image of Inuyasha's ears that were so much like Akage's came to her mind. 

"Akage." She said a bit uncertainly. "I've been travelling with him searching for…for…" Naraku appeared in her mind's eye, then she was bombarded with a flood of images and emotions. 

"NO!" she shouted.

Akiko let her go and staggered backward gasping for air. Akage, quick on his feet caught Kagome before she fell and glowered at Akiko, about to yell at her for an explanation when he noticed she was gripping the edge of the cabinet looking utterly terrified. 

"Akiko! What's wrong!?" He quickly checked Kagome, who seemed to be sleeping and propped her up against the wall, then hurried over to Akiko. 

"What is it Akiko?" he asked again even more worried. 

"You keep that girl away from me! Don't bring her here any more!" she shouted still gripping the corner. 

"What's wrong with her!" he shouted back unsure of what was happening. He looked back over to Kagome. 

"That girl; that girl has such an immense power. She could destroy us all!" Akiko began to panic. 

"GET HER OUT OF HERE! TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME!" she pushed Akage away from her. "GET OUT!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs. 

Akage grabbed Kagome and ran out and kept on running. _'I have to get away from here!' _The inhabitants who had heard the commotion were beginning to gather. He took her back to the pool and laid her down on one of the rocks. Ripping a piece of his kimono off he hastily dipped it in the water. _'It might wake her up,' _

"Please wake up!" he whispered, gently dabbing her face with the wet cloth. "Come on. Open your eyes." She moaned then slowly opened her eyes to see Akage's shadowy figure. She smiled and propped herself up on her elbows and looked around. 

"Why are we here?" she inquired not understanding their current situation. She looked back at him, in full sitting position now; to find his eyes filled with concern. _'That look is just like…'_ then the images came flooding back. She put her hands up to her face and shook her head as if it might make them go away. 

"Midori?" Akage touched her arm. Kagome dropped her hands from her face and stared up at him, eyes wide full of pain and confusion shining with unshed tears. He pulled her to him and sat her in his lap rocking her, making soothing sounds as she wept. After almost ten minutes she had calmed down.

"I'm sorry." She said into his chest. He looked down at her still concerned. 

"Midori, are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine now."

She wiped away the last of her tears and drew in a shaky breath. "I don't know what all of that was," she flashed him a halfhearted smile. "I hope that won't happen again anytime soon." She was actually terrified that it might happen again. "It felt like I was being torn apart." Not realizing she had said this out loud, she began to move out of Akage's lap but he was reluctant to let her go. 

"Are you sure you're alright?" 

"Yes, I'm fine, really." She had been looking at him and when his grip tightened she blushed. 

"Uh sorry." He let go of her seeing this, putting his hand up to his head, embarrassed. 

"So what did Akiko say. Is there anything she can do?"

"Midori. Do you not remember anything that happened back there?" he asked incredulously.

"I remember Akiko telling me to look at her, into her eyes." She was getting a far away look in her own. "And then. OH NO!" she snapped right back into reality. "Did I fall and hit my head again? Is that why I can't remember anything?"

"No, no you just passed out I guess. Are you sure you don't remember anything." He desperately wanted to know what had scared Akiko so. _'Midori doesn't seem to have any powers.' 'You don't know that for sure,' _the rational part of his mind reasoned. 

"Well," she interrupted his thoughts. "Did Akiko suggest anything that might help because I'd like to get started on it." She pushed her sleeves up. 

"Actually, she doesn't. We're just going to have to find away to do it on our own I guess. Try not to worry too much Ok. I'll be here to help you through this, I promise." 

She searched his eyes. He would help her and she was very grateful. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, and as she was pulling away she whispered,

"I know you will." 

Her breath caressed his skin sending tiny sensations throughout his entire body. He met her eyes and they seemed to change. Their color deepened and the look of genuine appreciation turned into something quite different. 

They became locked in an intimate gaze. 

Kagome's heart beat wildly. _'His eyes are so warm and caring.'_ Then a pair of intense golden eyes crept into her mind. _"I'll protect you"_ a voice whispered that was not Akage's. She dropped her gaze. 

"I ah, suppose we should go and ah, get something to eat. It's been a pretty eventful morning and I'm already starving, you must be hungry yourself." She rambled getting off the rock and heading to the path. _'Why do I feel so guilty?'_

Akage climbed off the rock slowly processing the last few minutes. _'What's going on here? What am I doing?'_


	9. Chapter 9

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Hey all! I've finally finished this one up, I've been on the sickly side and sleep is my number one priority, aside from this of course. Hey! Do you know what would make me feel a whole lot better…REVIEWS! They're sure to get rid of this nasty cough and case of feeling like I weigh a ton (at least that's what I'm going to blame that feeling on J ). It may even make me feel good enough to get the next chapter up faster. So it looks like reviews will make everyone happy! 

Chapter Nine

After a silent walk through the woods, both lost in their own thoughts they went back to Kagome's room. Akage left her then to get some food. He would have brought her with him so they could eat somewhere where they were not in such close quarters, just the two of them. To be surrounded by others out in the open is what he wanted. _'That way nothing can happen. I don't know if my will power is up to this kind of challenge.'_

" My instincts seem to be gaining the upper hand." He muttered resentfully. _'But being out and about doesn't seem to be a good idea either. After that incident with Akiko I don't know how the others will react. No doubt she's already told Father.'_ He thought bitterly. With this in mind he tactfully avoided his father, swiftly gathered the food, making a somewhat hasty return to Kagome's room, all the while pondering what the next encounter with his father would be like. Dreading was more like it. 

When he came to her door he took a deep breath before entering.

After a somewhat awkward setting out of the food Kagome was surprised at how good it was. 

"This is Delicious! What is it?"

Relieved he began telling her about the food. 

With the tension broken they talked for a good three hours, most of which were spent teaching her colors. For the next week they spent most of their time together; Akage telling her about himself and his family, what it was like being the prince of the fox youkai tribe, all kinds of things. He also taught her about different things that she couldn't remember and added to the ones that she could. As of late he had decided to teach her some self-defense. _'There's too much hostility towards her more now than before because of Akiko. I don't know if the fact that I'm the prince will keep those who want her dead at bay.'_

His father had been informed of Akiko's discovery and was not pleased. After his father nearly bit his head off he interjected with an excellent point:

"If she has such an awesome power wouldn't it be better to have her as an ally than an enemy? She doesn't have any knowledge of her powers and if we were to treat her like shit and send her away to have her then realize them…What do you think she would do? What would you do?" he added knowing exactly what his father would do. _'That shut you up,'_ he smirked inwardly knowing her had won. 

"But if she were to stay, even if she didn't learn about her powers she would have no reason to do us any harm when she did leave. And think about it, if she did tap into them while in our care she may be useful to us in the future."

"You have proved your point. She may stay but she is your responsibility, if anything should happen to her it will be on your head. I won't take part in this matter from this point on. 

"I do have some advice that you should take into careful consideration, son. If I learn of anything going on between you and that human I will be stepping in so, keep your demon instincts at bay I warn you. I needn't remind you that you are the prince of the Fox youkai tribe." 

His father was dead serious and Akage knew it. _'I won the battle but that bastard won the war.'_ He swallowed his pride and bowed. 

"Argiato Father." His father staring him down, the whole time. 

With its desired effect accomplished, Akage left seething. But his embarrassment did the trick. It bought him the time he needed to help her remember. 

After a while he came to recognize a look that she got on her face when she seemed to be making some kind of connection between things from the present and her forgotten past. He referred to it as her "I know this" look. Sometimes she told him when it happened but other times she would just keep it to herself. There were a few times when she had become upset. She tried to cover it up by smiling and saying she was tired and wanted to take a nap or something else that required her to be alone. When she did get upset it was usually over something he said or did. She would stop dead in her tracks and look at him, eyes wide with panic. When she gave her excuse he would let her go and didn't press the matter further. 

__

'It must be painful what she's going through." He thought solemnly. _'Teaching her self defense will give her something else to think about.'_

She literally jumped at the offer and so the training began the next morning. He chose an area in the forest that had been used for training but was rarely used any more.

"It became too small for group training as the tribe grew, but it'll work for us," he explained with pride at the mention of the extent of the tribe as he led her to the clearing. 

"Shut up already and start teaching." She clapped her hands together and bowed. "Please teach me oh Great-one." She peeked at him and started giggling. He was glaring down at her. 

"Oh come on. Don't be grumpy. Well. It is kind of early, I guess you didn't get all of your beauty sleep, huh?" she joked. He didn't seem to find it funny. 

"Come on. I was just joking." He continued to stand there looking unamused. 

Kagome, getting angry at his lack of sense of humor, put her hands on her hips.

"Can't you take a joke!" He didn't even move to make a comeback. 

"FINE!" she threw her arms up in frustration. "ARGH!" she flung them back down to her side and started to stomp away. 

He grinned then tackled an angry, unsuspecting Kagome to the ground making her yelp in surprise. 

He made sure he didn't overly hurt her, setting himself up so he would get the brunt of the fall. They rolled a few times and ended up side by side. 

"Rule Number One," he panted from the exertion and trying not to laugh. "Never turn your back on an enemy." He helped her up then snatched her hand away. 

"Rule Number Two: Never let your guard down."

Kagome was furious. 

"Is that so." She managed through gritted teeth.

"YUP." He stated happily. She grabbed his shoulders and kneed him in the guts. He gasped loudly holding his stomach and, when he could manage, began wheezing.

"You let your guard down," she hissed venomously and huffed away.

The next rule Akage taught her was explained before the lesson. 

Kagome was very enthusiastic from the beginning and turned out to be a quick learner. The next three days consisted of steady training and since Akage's father had put him in charge of Kagome, he was excused from many of his duties, so the better half of his time was spent with her. 

They would eat a light breakfast in Kagome's room then go to the training grounds where they would train for about three hours. They would eat a packed lunch and rest for about an hour and a half and then continue training for another two. At the end of the lessons Kagome would go take a bath at the fall while Akage retrieved their supper. _'That way I won't be anywhere near her while she's undressed.'_

During the training he was becoming ever more aware of her body, _'If that's possible. You've seen her naked more than once.' _He thought grimly as he was returning to the fall with that night's meal. With each day of hours of training and constant body contact, it was getting harder and harder to control himself. He had managed to though. 

They did have their moments when a hold would turn into something more, or when they would tumble to the ground landing on top of each other, panting and flushed. She didn't always seem to be aware of these intimate mishaps, but when she was her flush would deepen (along with his own), and she would look away, but not fast enough for him to catch the look of guilt that seemed to pass over them. Then the nervous babbling would begin, but her look of guilt was some how different. It was sad, and the fact that he didn't know the reason behind it troubled him.

She was so determined and really enjoyed the training. _'She seems so innocent, and I feel like I'd be taking advantage of her if I let my damn instincts get the better of me. Oh, I don't know what's going on. Why am I even thinking about this?' _He had made it to the fall by the time he came out of his muddled thoughts and avoided looking towards the water, just incase.

He laid the blanket that Kagome insisted they bring with them, on the ground before spreading the food out. _'She called this a _'picnic'._' _He hadn't thought that there was a word for eating out doors on top of a blanket but she insisted that's what it was. _'She actually got mad at me when I asked her more about it,' _he chuckled. _'She gets so angry over such trivial things sometimes.'_

He waited for her for a bit longer until he got apprehensive and went over to find her. _'I'll take my chances; she can't still be in the water.'_ When he saw she wasn't his unease escalated and he started looking for her.

"MIDORI! MIDORI!" with each passing moment of no reply he became more afraid and his calling of her name more frantic. 

"MIDORI! ANSWER ME! WHERE ARE YOU!?" 

Suddenly he caught her scent and raced off in that direction. She was sitting beside an old well wrapped up in her towel, her knees drawn up to her chin, arms grasped around them. 

"Midori, what happened? Are you ok?" he ran and dropped to his knees in front of her, reaching out to her. 

"Midori?" she raised her eyes but seemed to look right through him. Her face was contorted in what looked like pain though he could sense no physical injuries; it was in her eyes. He had never seen such a look in her eyes. They were so utterly lost and sad, _'She looks so alone." _A fear gripped his heart and it became hard for him to breathe. _'I can't bare to see that look in her eyes. She's not alone! I'm here!'_

"Midori," he choked out. She came back to him then and tears sprang to her eyes. She grabbed his kimono frantically clutching at the fabric in a state of panic.

"The Bone Eater's well, the Bone Eater's well!" she repeated over and over again between sobs. He stood up pulling her with him then scooped her up holding her close as he sped off towards her room. By the time they arrived Kagome had stopped crying but was currently shaking. _'She must be in shock.'_

He couldn't figure out what had happened. He kicked open the door and took her to the bed, laying her down. He closed the door and looked for an extra blanket. Running back over to her when he found one he wrapped it around her. She was drawing in ragged breaths, her eyes were puffy and red from crying but the shaking had lessened. 

"Please stay. Please don't leave me," her voice was strangled with a desperate pleading. He sat beside her.

"I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." His own voice sounding strangled he was so choked with emotion. 

She began crying softly, which was all she could manage. Her indecipherable thoughts had her exhausted and the emotions that were hitting her left right and center were causing her something very close to physical pain. But somewhere a single light shone and her abused senses reached for it. It promised protection and care. That's what she needed. But when the promise was made it was wrong, it was always wrong. She didn't know how she knew and at the time wouldn't have been able to question it, but she knew and having that knowledge somehow hurt the most.

__

'It's not supposed to be him,' always broke through. Even now it was the one comprehendible thought that fought to be recognized. So she cried. She cried because the ghosts of memories were haunting her, because her heart felt as though it had broken and because what should be right was wrong.

Akage lay down beside her giving the warmth and comfort of his body and the safety of his embrace. She stopped crying at some point but he didn't leave. They fell asleep holding each other. 

*COUGH, COUGH, REVIEW! COUGH, COUGH*


	10. Chapter 10

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CHAPTER TEN

Inuyasha had been searching for Kagome. Sango, Miroku and Shippo were doing likewise even Keada was and continued to do her part in the search. After careful consideration they all came to the conclusion that it would be better to keep the disappearance of Kagome as quiet as possible. If Naraku and his minions found out they would take it as an opportunity to make their lives even more difficult than it had already become.

But with this decision came repercussions, not spreading the word hindered the group's search greatly. But it was still better to know that they, along with a few others, were the only one's looking for Kagome and not Naraku. If he was the one who had taken her they figured he would have rubbed it in their faces by now, and so the length of time that passed lessened their suspicions that Naraku was her abductor. But with each passing day it only made their hearts heavier.

Inuyasha would go off on his own to look for her and come back every couple of days to see if they had found anything. Miroku and Sango tried to be optimistic in the beginning, reassuring him that she would be found. 

"Kagome's too stubborn to give up," was something all of them had thought in the beginning too, but now the optimism and thoughts of their strong willed friend being able to over come anything were beginning to waver. No one really wanted to consider the fact that Kagome might not be alright but it was becoming painfully obvious that the possibility was there. 

From the day he lost Kagome, Inuyasha had been searching. He barely got any sleep because she haunted his dreams. He couldn't push her image from his mind even in his dreams:

He would see her smiling, her eyes carefree and happy. She would talk to him but he wouldn't understand her words, so he just listened to the sound flow, lulling him so he felt at peace. Then everything would go silent. He would turn to her in question only to see her sitting on the ground legs splayed out to both sides, shoulders hunched over, her arms the only thing supporting her, her eyes downcast. 

He would call out to her but there would be no sound. They were surrounded by a dead silence. He would go to her and reach out to touch her. Then her head would snap up and stare him right in the eyes. Her eyes were dead. He would see his reflection and then something would pass through them, recognition. Then they would come alive, full of fear, pain and loss. Her mouth would open as if she was trying to scream, and for a split second nothing would come. The silence was building. At the end of that split second she would find her voice and cry out in such a state of agony that he was sure his mind would shatter. 

That's usually when he would wake up having fallen out of the tree he had been sleeping in, drenched, short of breath and utterly terrified. 

He had taken to only sleeping in trees because demons had been coming after the jewel shards and being above ground gave him the advantage, but this particular advantage didn't do much for his personal demons. 

Exhausted and desperate to find Kagome his days were beginning to go by in a haze. Following a few hours of sleep he would start looking for Kagome, slaying any demons he came across, and eat, if he remembered. The rest of his time was spent thinking about her or trying not to think about her. 

At first he was in a rage, and when demons came after the shards he was grateful, the fighting gave him a way to vent his anger and guilt. But as each day passed without even a trace of her his guilt and rage began to give way to depression. He was in a sorry state. The fighting became mostly repetitive. His skills hadn't lessened he just felt nothing while doing it. _'What do I have to fight for?'_ He didn't want to admit to himself that his brain even registered such a thought, but it was there, lingering at the back of his mind pushing itself slowly forward, a little bit every day.

Even Sesshomaru could sense his half brother's lack of enthusiasm while fighting him. He stopped the fight.

"I do not wish to fight you in this pathetic state." He raised his chin and scrunched his nose up in disgust. "You are not worth my time at present." He then noticed that the hanyou's group of followers were not with him. 

"Have they had enough of you, Inuyasha? I suppose even humans, as pathetic as they are, would get tired of a disgraceful half breed like you."

Inuyasha retaliated of course but Sesshomaru was gone, leaving his half brother frustrated, depressed and with something else to think about. 

__

'If Kagome is truly de…' he wouldn't allow himself to knowingly think that_. 'What if I can't find her, what will the others do?' _he shook his head trying to clear it then looked at the ground._ 'I am a pathetic disgrace.' _His thoughts shifted to Kikyou. He had truly loved her but when that love was put to the test_ 'this is how things turned out.' _He smiled sadly_. 'With Kikyou we were deceived by Naraku, but this is different. Kagome is gone because I couldn't protect her… my life may belong to Kikyou but my heart belongs to Kagome. I have to prove that to her. She deserves that much.'_

The hollow ache his heart had acquired had threatened to engulf him. He had been miserable, but now a single light shone. He wasn't sure how he would reach it, but knew he had to try, no matter what. 

__

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That was my pathetic attempt at making squiggly line separators, which was a helpful hint from my sister who suggested I use them for the passing of time and at the end of the chapter, if I chose to make a comment at the end. I'm very grateful that she helped me out with this chapter because I really needed to fix it up. Although some of her 'helpful hints' were a bit harsh they did help out a lot in the end and I really do appreciate them. 

"So thank you good Sir for spending your time to help this poor sap, even though it took up a lot of your computer time and hindered you from going to bed at a descent hour. You are my InuGoddess."

I hope you liked it (because it was a bitch to write) and if any of you have any questions, criticisms or 'helpful hints' don't be afraid to voice them, I can always use some good advice. 

*COUGH, COUGH, REVIEW! COUGH*

Excuse me, I'm still sick (sheepish grin).


	11. Chapter 11

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Well hellu again, it's been a while. About that, after I got over the unknown illness I suffered from a serious case of writer's block set in; even though I already have some of my story handwritten it was like I was afraid to type anything up. Weird? I think so. Any way, here's a question for yah: Do you find it easier to read when the type is in bold or does it hurt your eyes?

My sister says it hurts her eyes and I was just wondering if anyone else thought so too.

I'm going to shut up now so you can get on with the show but I would like to take this time out to thank Chiisai-tori for her wonderful reviews. THANK YOU !) I would also like to say: Chiiasai-tori, I would have said this to you personally but, after stupidly deleting and doing other equally dumb things to the email I was going to send you (three times), I got fed up and had to get off the computer for a while. Before I took my beating stick to it.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Kagome woke up first from a chill, her skin prickled from the breeze. Reluctantly she opened her eyes and realized why she was so cold. A single sheet covered her chest and was draped over her legs. Akage had the rest.

They were in a spooning position with his arms wrapped around her waist protectively. She looked over her shoulder to see his face and in the early morning rays his hair took on a silvery glow. Smiling sleepily she sighed, snuggled back into him and reached behind to pull some of the blankets over herself. Now covered she began to drift back to sleep.

He felt her stir and slowly began drifting in to consciousness until she moved causing him to become suddenly very wide-awake. His whole body tensed when her warm person cuddled closer causing their position to become a bit too comfortable. He thanked the gods that there were blankets between them.

When she had reached for more covers her touch and the feel of the material slide across his exposed skin, biting his lip was all he could do to keep from moaning from the unexpected pleasure. He held his breath until his face turned blue and he felt he would pass out. Thankfully she fell asleep quickly saving him from that particular out come. Although he got his breathing under control the color of his face deepened to an interesting shade of red. Utterly embarrassed he tried to calm his raging body down, which was becoming more and more difficult.

__

'I've got to control myself! This is WRONG!' He closed his eyes breathing in and out, catching the scent of her hair. He breathed the smell in deeply. His inner voice softened,_ 'but it feels so right.'_ He opened his eyes and watched her sleep, feeling the rise and fall of her body with the intake and expulsion of air. _'How can this girl do this to me? Why does she make me feel like this?'_ he puzzled over this until he felt her stir again. She turned onto her back and lay there for a few moments. He studied her face, which was slightly puffed from sleep. Her full lips were slightly parted with what looked like a smile hidden in the corners. Her long dark lashes contrasted greatly with her cream colored skin, which seemed to be emitting a faint glow. Her thick ebony hair pooled out beneath her adding to her goddess like appearance. _'My gods she's beautiful.'_ She then turned to him brining them into very close quarters.

Very afraid of what might happen if he couldn't control himself he tried to extricate his arm from her waist, which unfortunately brought them into yet a more comfortable position. He looked down at her in panic.

Her lips curved in a drowsy smile. She rested her hand on his chest, then with the weight of sleep, slowly slid her hand up to his face and tilted hers up to meet his.

He knew what was happening and as much as the practical part of his mind screamed for him to get up and leave his body didn't exactly feel like responding to that order. But the inability to listen to his mind or his waning ability to control his body wasn't what scared him the most - the fact that his heart ached because he wanted her so much was what had him trembling.

Her tender lips lightly touched his, curving again in a slight smile. She arched her neck deepening the kiss.

The silky touch of her lips sent his head spinning. He gripped the sheets; afraid if he touched her he wouldn't be able to stop himself.

__

'She's so innocent. You couldn't do that to her,' the familiar voice pleaded.

She opened her mouth slightly as an unconscious invitation; Akage's own recognized the gesture and hungrily obliged. His tongue caressed her lips, which parted wider in welcome. After that he used every ounce of his being so he wouldn't lose himself. A small, pained growl sounded in the back of his throat.

She broke the kiss after what seemed like a lifetime to Akage, and drew away glowing. With the small smile playing on her lips she laid back down with a contented sigh.

"Goh nigh Inu…" she mumbled drowsily as she fell back into oblivion.

Akage was in the process of gaining back as much control over his nerve wracked body as he could when his sensitive hearing picked up her breathy voice. That sobered him.

He looked down at her beautiful, peaceful, contented form her cheeks tainted a glowing pink. His heart felt like it was about to break.

He carefully removed her hand from his chest and managed to retrieve his arm without further incident and slipped out of bed. Some of the sheets had pulled down from his retreat exposing Kagome's chest. He looked down on her in sadness, then covered her up and went unsteadily to sit in the corner across from the bed.

He left about an hour later to fetch breakfast and to just do something to try and forget about what happened.

__

'She's a human you're a demon, a prince demon no less! All that was, was lust. It's just been a while since I've been with anyone and all this physical contact with this girl… I'm just reacting to instinct, that's all.' 'LIAR,' another part of his mind debated but he violently pushed that thought away.

He gathered their food and contemplated nonphysical training methods, _'Seeing how training has become our routine I don't want her to think that anything has changed. She was practically asleep, she may not even remember.' 'But you remember.' _He wished that part of his conscience would give it a rest. Of course he remembered and with that memory came the realization that the possibility of Midori being Inuyasha's miko was very likely. _'Well I'm not completely certain. She should at least regain some memories so there's no mistake.' _He pushed his doubting conscience away again and continued considering some non-contact training.

__

'Start her off with something simple. ARCHERY! Yes! Low contact, an effective weapon… Inuyasha's miko was said to be able to take a demon in one shot. Maybe she'll remember something.' He wanted to be pleased with himself for coming up with such a great idea that might help Midori, but his heart just felt heavy at the thought of her leaving.

"What's the matter with me," he muttered running a hand through his hair. Sighing as he arrived at her door he mentally shook himself and put on a happy face. He opened the door quietly incase she was still sleeping to find her doing up the last button of her shirt. She greeted him smiling seeming to beam with cheeriness.

__

'She's wearing her clothes,' he observed shocked. _'What if she gained back her memory?'_ He set down the food and asked cautiously.

"Why are you wearing those? I thought you hated them."

"What? I always wear this." She gave him a weird look and smiled. "So what's for breakfast, I'm starving." Feeling exceptionally chipper considering what happened the day before she figured she would enjoy the feeling until the serious questions started.

Famished, she went to the table to look over the food, then began dishing it out for the both of them.

Akage, unsure of what was going on sat down and ate in silence. Kagome, quite content downed her food while Akage just picked at his watching her warily. Becoming annoyed with his silence and his weird looks, Kagome decided it was time to get down to business. _'Seeing as that's obviously what Akage wants to do.'_

"Will you stop staring and ask me something already."

Startled from the break of silence he looked down at his plate a bit embarrassed and contemplated what to ask her first.

"You remember what happened yesterday?" She nodded. "What were you doing at that well?"

Akage had been taking a long time getting the food so she went for a little walk. He never really left her alone while they were in the woods so she decided to take advantage of her temporary freedom. _'But it's not like you're a prisoner or anything.'_ She sighed, becoming lost in her thoughts until she came to a small clearing. She pushed aside a branch to reveal an abandoned well. She walked over to it getting an increasingly strange feeling and when she peered inside that's when it hit her, memories of her going through a well.

"The Bone Eater's well," she breathed, almost to herself. "Something special happens there, something that I'm part of." Her eyes had become far away, going back to the memory. A chill ran down her spin at the thought, she shivered and came back to reality, waving off his look of concern.

"Anyway. I guess I must live somewhere around there or something. Have you ever heard of it before? Do you know where it is?" she asked excitedly.

He shook his head. The excitement left her face only to be replaced by a look of determination.

"Well, we'll just have to go find it wont we." She stated her voice full of conviction. Akage frowned inwardly.

"I guess so but…"

"GOOD. Let's get going." She stood up.

"Hey, just wait a minute." He thought frantically of something to say to delay their departure.

"Before the both of us go anywhere I want to make sure you are completely capable of handling yourself incase we run into trouble and I alone can't hold them off." She glared at him offended.

"I can take care of myself! You said I've improved a lot and I know I can be of some help if something like that happens." She stopped glaring and the look in her eyes turned bright and mischievous. He raised his eyebrow in suspicion. She kneeled down next to him grinning slightly.

"Besides. You're a big tough guy. You can take what ever comes at us." She smiled charmingly.

"As much as I'd like to think so, I know I couldn't and I'm not going to act cocky, pretending that I can, putting you in danger in the process. It's not an option." He finished in all seriousness.

Touched at his concern for her safety she couldn't help but still be angry.

"Well what do you propose we do?" she asked mockingly. He brightened at this.

"I'm so glad that you asked. I've been thinking about it and I think it's time we moved on to something different, other than just fighting." He paused dramatically. "Weapons." He finished grinning ear to ear.

"Weapons. Well, what kind, swords?" she contemplated this skeptically. The picture she had of herself trying to sword fight didn't look too promising.

"No, something else." He paused again for effect. "The bow and arrow." He watched her reaction. To his dismay he was quite sure he saw a shadow of remembrance pass over her eyes.

At the mention of the bow and arrow it was like something in her clicked.

"That's great! When do we start." Her determination back full force.

Akage cleared off the table and went to get the necessities. He returned with another tribe member who was helping with the load. After they arrived at their designated practice area and got everything set up, Kagome was trying her best not to pester Akage too much about getting started; he was a bit worn out from the rigorous activities of carrying and setting up. But as soon as he realized that she wasn't going to let up he decided to start the training. _'She's RELENTLESS!'_

To his surprise she didn't pick up the bow and start shooting like a pro, she was having quite a bit of difficulty. He went over to help her when it struck him.

__

'OH SHIT! NO!'

He stopped arms frozen midair, his eyes growing large.

Kagome turned around. _'I thought he was going to help me.'_ She was alarmed when she saw the look on his face and tensed.

"What is it?" she urged, thinking they may be in some kind of danger.

Immediately after seeing the fear in her eyes he dropped his arms and his face lit ablaze. He laughed nervously and sifted through his clouded mind for an excuse.

"Uh, s…sorry Midori, I um, I stepped on something. It uh, it really hurt." He finished hitting an all time low in lameness, his face somehow growing brighter. He averted his eyes.

"Are you sure your ok?" she reached out to him but he moved away nervously.

"You're sure?" she asked again unconvinced. _'Why is he acting so weird? It's like he's embarrassed or something.'_

"Uh yeah, I'm fine." Still not meeting her eyes he moved passed her to his bow and grabbed an arrow. "See, this is how you do it," he instructed her shakily. She was still concerned but imitated his position none the less.

He looked over to make sure she was doing it right and was extremely relieved to find that she was also a quick study in this as well. He gave her a few quick pointers before saying he had to leave.

"Why don't you go to the fall and bathe and I'll send Hitomi to escort you back to your room and bring you your meal." He spouted hurriedly, then paused. " Actually, I'll take you back to your room ok?" he didn't sound to sure of himself so she didn't question him. _'With the state he's in he doesn't look like he could really give me a coherent answer let alone a truth full one. What is the matter with him?'_

He still wasn't looking at her and didn't notice when she came up behind him.

He was preparing himself so he could take her to her room, so when her arms slid around his neck his whole body stiffened. He was completely still, unmoving, unbreathing, his heart wedged in his throat.

When he finally allowed himself to relax and breath he felt it was the biggest mistake of his life. His senses were immediately overwhelmed by her scent and he had the distinct feeling that he was going insane.

Slowly he knelt down gathering his wits about him when she slid her legs around his waist and pressed her body against his back, her quick puffs of breath caressing his neck. He shot upright causing Kagome to hold on tighter.

"You've got to get off," he managed in a somewhat pained tone.

She immediately let go thinking she had hurt him.

"Akage, are you alright? Did I hurt you?" she looked him up and down very concerned.

"Yes." He tried to calm himself down. _'Your scaring her!' _the sensible part of his mind rather viciously chided. He cleared his throat but still didn't look at her.

"It would be better if I carried you in my arms. You uh, being on my back hurt my foot." He lied unconvincingly.

"Oh. Why don't you let me look…" she didn't get to finish her sentence because he abruptly lifted her into his arms and took off like a bat out of hell.

The trip back was completely awkward for Kagome. Akage was clutching her so tightly she was sure there would be bruises the next morning. _'And this bow and quiver aren't helping either.'_ She glanced up at her ride and desperately wanted to know what was going on with him. _'He couldn't have just hurt his foot, he looks like he's in some deeper amount of pain.'_

She was right he was suffering; his body was going crazy, his mind not too far off. He had hoped that the wind would get rid of her scent: with Kagome on his back it wouldn't have been a problem. '_But the way her curves were touching, the way she would have moved with me during…'_ The impending knowledge of how it would feel was just as bad as the feel of her at that moment. So, he grabbed her into his arms thankful that she had the extra luggage, which prevented their positions from getting too near.

His mind was racing trying to make sensible decisions as to what he was going to do once they stopped. _'You'll be at her room…' _his mind wandered off following the direction of his instincts. _'NO! I've got to get away for a while, far away. But what am I going to tell Midori?' _Then the rational part of his mind somehow got through all the mess. _'If she's in heat and your reacting like this how will the other males in the tribe react?'_

By the time that obstacle presented itself they had already reached their destination.

Forcing his instincts at bay, he pushed open the door and rushed over to the bed, dropping her down on it unceremoniously.

The now angry Kagome threw aside the bow and quiver and got up indignantly.

"WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!" barely able to keep her frustration in check.

He had moved over to the door not trusting him self to be in such a close proximity with her and the bed.

"I've decided to go find out information on the Bone Eater's well alone. You need to stay here and practice." He rambled.

"I want to go with you! I'll be able to help. I might even start to remember something."

"Hitomi and some of the other females will accompany you _everywhere_." He hadn't heard a word she said he was concentrating so hard on what to say. "No matter what, you don't go anywhere with out the females with you, GOT IT!" She was standing there glaring at him furiously, her hands on her hips.

"I'M NOT SOME CHILD YOU CAN BOSS AROUND! I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!"

He closed the distance between them in seconds grabbing her by the shoulders and gave her a shake.

"DON'T GO ANYWHERE WITH OUT THEM, UNDERSTAND!" he searched her eyes frantically for an indication of some understanding. Her eyes were wide with confusion and fear but he tightened his grip on her so she would respond.

"GOT IT!" It hurt him to hurt her but she needed to understand. _'The others might not be able to restrain themselves.' _He was still having a hard time restraining himself.

Kagome whimpered as his clawed finger's bit painfully into her arms coming dangerously close to piercing her delicate skin. The fear in her growing along with the weird sense of déjà vu.

After she whimpered he lowered his hands only to wrap his arms around her in an almost painful embrace. _'You scared her! You can't leave with her scared. MAKE HER FEEL SAFE!'_ his muddled mind demanded.

So he hugged her hoping that it might help calm her because it definitely was not helping him. She fit into him so perfectly, her curves fit in all the right places and the fact that his did too was pressed upon him making him ever more aware.

He could feel her heart race beneath her breast and his own wildly beating heart somehow sped up in response.

Her smell was intoxicating. His body, though roused before began to burn; he would have given anything to take her right then and there.

Trying to push all instinctual thoughts away he let go of her and went to the door.

"I'm sorry," his voice strained. "I've got to go." And with that he ran off up the path with the feeling of shame dominating over the many emotions that ran rampant through his mind and body.

Kagome was stunned and when she finally pulled her eyes away from the door she was surprised to find that her cheeks were wet.

Feeling exhausted and confused she submitted to the drowsy feeling that now blanketed her. She crawled into her bed and fell into a restless sleep.

By the time Akage reached the main area of the castle grounds, he had cooled down significantly but her alluring scent still lingered.

__

Almost unwillingly he breathed her scent in deeply. His body began tingling again and with this painfully sweet reminder her image was brought for as well. His face heated up instantly. It suddenly occurred to him that her scent was a little too real to be a memory. He stopped dead in his tracks and took a big whiff of his current apparel. To his immediate dismay he realized that he could smell her on him, though only faintly. _'I can't have any of the others 'catching wind' of her before I leave, it would be like giving them a taste of forbidden fruit.'_ He bristled at the thought of one of the other males just feeling what he felt.

Emitting a low growl he quickly changed his course to go the long way around to his room. As soon as he got there he threw off his clothes, shoved them in a bag and washed himself rigorously. With that out of the way he prepared himself for the journey and for the confrontation with his father. _'He's got to know so he can keep an eye on her for me. I hope.' _He was none too sure that his father would even consider doing such a thing, their last real conversation still fresh in his mind.

He wanted to get on his way as soon as possible._ 'The faster I leave the faster I can be back. Hopefully I'll be able to control myself by then, or if I'm lucky her course will have already started.'_ Though he did have his doubts.

__

'The only reason I reacted so fiercely was because I was caught off guard, plus what happened last night,' he tried to lay the blame on something. _'But why was it so overpowering? I've been around the other females when they were in heat and it never effected me that much.' _He wracked his brain trying to come up with a feasible explanation, choosing to block out everything the sensible part of his brain offered until he reached his father's quarters.

"Father."

"Son." He raised his brow quizzically, a faint smile touching the corner of his lips. "Finished the lesson already?" As Akage approached him he could see that he was clearly frazzled and again lifted his brow.

"Listen." Akage all but spat, already annoyed at his father's mocking expression. "Midori has remembered something and I'm going to check it out." He stopped but obviously had more to say. His father waited for him to go on with that same mocking expression. He hated when he did that. Frustrated with the whole situation he gave up trying to be calm about it.

"Midori's in heat and I need you to make sure nothing happens to her while I'm gone, NOTHING. I'm almost certain that she is the miko but just need to confirm it before I take her to whereever it is she belongs.

"Send some of the females to take care of her and don't let any of the males around her. She'll most likely stay around the area of woods near her room, the fall and the old training area. Station female guards to keep watch, and make it known that there will be _serious _repercussions if my orders are disobeyed."

"I am impressed with you decision Akage." Now understanding why his son was so agitated he was _very_ impressed with his decision to get away from the girl.

"You seem to handling the situation quite well, son." The mocking smile left his lips and he became serious, as if he were addressing a leader instead of his son. "I will inform the tribe members of your demands and make sure they are not undermined."

"I am grateful. Argiato Father." He bowed, turned and left. He missed the slight bow his father gave in return, proud that his son was exerting a militaristic style of handling difficult situations. _'He has the potential to be a great leader.'_

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Hope you liked it! Now review damn it!!!


	12. Chapter 12

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* * *

Well, it's me again. I know, I know, it's been a while and I'm sorry. I just took a shit kicking in the school department and was overwhelmed by projects, tests, presentations, blah, blah, blah. **

Anyway, Oh! I just wanted to clear something up. In the last chapter I did have some line separator things indicating that Kagome was remembering something but they didn't show up, so if you were a little confused at the part I'm going to show you now, that's why.

"You remember what happened yesterday?" she nodded. "What were you doing at that well?"

Akage had been taking a long time…

"The Bone Eater's well…

Also, I'd like to say thanks to my wonderful reviewers

THANKS!!!

I received one review that made me realize that I should have made a few things a bit more clear at the beginning of the story. Akage isn't a hanyou he's a full youkai. I needed to give him some attribute that Inuyasha and he could share and the ears are just so damn cute how could I resist. So, sorry about the mix up, I hope that Akage not being a hanyou isn't a disappointment to you or anything.

You know I haven't read a story about Kagome being fought over by two hanyou. Huh. If anyone knows of one can you send me the title? That would be pretty neat story to read.

Anywho, that was too long and I know now I have no excuses for when people make fun of me for blabbing on because I just proved their point.

So that's my que to shut up, (whispers) "enjoy!"

CHAPTER TWELVE

Kagome awoke sometime later to a knock on the door. Immediately thinking that it was Akage she was more than shocked to find Hitomi carrying food.

Hitomi set the load down and annoyed with the girl's stupid stare began to explain.

"I've been ordered by Lord Mitzubishi to act as your servant until Master Akage returns. I will bring your meals and other necessities to prepare you for the day.

"You will be escorted to any destination you please. In this vicinity of the woods of course." She added snidely. " Although you can go no further than the place in which you and Master Akage train." Kagome was sure she heard a low growl at these words.

'I sure am glad that the restrictions on where I am and am not allowed to be aren't that bad.' She mentally rolled her eyes. _'All she had to say is that I'm confined to the same area's as before.'_

"You are not permitted to go anywhere without being accompanied by one of the females. And don't get it in your head to sneak off anywhere either, Master Akage doesn't want you in any kind of danger," her eyes glittered mischievously with an evil smirk to match.

"You're already in enough."

"Listen. I don't know what your problem with me is and I don't really care but lets put aside the snide remarks for now. Seeing as we'll be spending some time in each other's presence we can at least try to be civil to one another."

"Fine." She agreed snottily, her nose raised a bit higher in the air than was necessary.

"I'll be back to clear away the dishes and bring you your sleeping garments." And with the she left the room, her tail twitching.

Kagome sat down and ate absentmindedly while she went over the day's events. It didn't make any sense. _'First we were fine and then he freaked out. What was his problem?' _She then went over what Hitomi had said.

"In danger? How am I in danger? I suppose I am without Akage here with me, the other youkai are free to come after me." She shuddered at the thought and looked around nervously.

She was still angry though that he acted so weird and then just left her.

"If anything I should have gone with him, it probably would have helped me remember." She pouted. "Still, it was good of him to make sure I was protected."

She was still confused about the way he had acted and the more she thought about it, the more concerned she grew. _'It was like something was hurting him. He was so tense and panicky, and when he looked at me I couldn't read his eyes they were so clouded. I just don't get it.'_

She had been pacing the room then plunked down on the bed and sighed and rested her head in her hands. It was only a short time before she snapped it back up when the door slid open.

Her heart leapt into her throat, _'IT'S AN AMBUSH!' _she thought wildly.

Hitomi stepped in a few seconds later extraordinarily pleased at the look on Kagome's face and tried to hide her smile. Kagome glared.

'BITCH!' she thought venomously. _'But maybe she knows what's wrong with Akage. She must have heard something.'_

Hitomi strode over to the bed and handed Kagome the garments bowing as she did so.

"Hitomi."

Said girl glanced up then straightened herself. _'The girl looks serious.'_

"Yes?" she questioned curiously.

"Do you know if there was anything wrong with Akage when he left? I mean, did you see him or hear about him, like maybe he got hurt or something?"

Hitomi was taken aback by the concern Kagome was showing for her master but more so by the question itself. _'Doesn't she know?' _she thought incredulously.

"You don't know anything?" Kagome was becoming annoyed with the stupid little fox's stare. "Well?"

Hitomi snapped back into reality.

"You don't know? Geez, humans are pathetic," she said exasperated.

"What are you talking about. Is it something that only happens to youkai?" Kagome's voice was getting higher as she was becoming angrier by the second.

"WHAT IS IT!"

"You mean to tell me that you don't know when you're in heat? Has it never happened to you before? You look old enough." Kagome stood there with her jaw almost touching the floor.

"You never noticed? Can't the males around you tell? I knew demons had superior senses but this is ridiculous! How does your kind know when to reproduce?"

Kagome of course learned about sexual reproduction and the likes in school.

"Females are the most fertile the week before their monthly course." Kagome's Sexual Education teacher's voice rang in her ears, but of course she didn't remember when, where or who she heard this from. Memory loss has a funny way of making you forget things. But she was quite certain of this remembered fact.

"In heat?" she said shakily.

"Do all male youkai act the same way when the females are in heat?" She was becoming a bit frightened remembering the way Akage acted. _'He must have been trying to control himself. How will the other males react!" _Now she was quite alarmed and ran over to the door taking a quick peek outside before she closed it. She noticed there was an armed female youkai standing not too far from the room.

Suddenly she had a mental image of crazy cartoon fox youkai running this way and that with the males chasing the females.

She giggled, though she wasn't all too sure if this was a laughing matter. She was just so overwhelmed by all the information and realizations she just didn't know exactly what to do; laugh, cry, be afraid?

"Well I've got no idea how Akage acted around you but judging from your reaction it must have been pretty extreme. Maybe youkai react differently to humans because the males don't act that weird.

"I guess it's a good thing that master Akage left. If he got mixed up with a human like that I don't know what the Lord would do." She shuddered," I don't want to think of what he might do."

She said this last bit as more of an after thought out loud than something aimed toward Kagome.

Kagome narrowed her eyes. _'She's so reassuring.'_

Hitomi shook her head as if to clear the thoughts away.

"Anyway. You're being guarded by some of the best female warriors of the tribe. They'll protect you but I suggest you don't make too many out trips, you never know what might happen."

She smiled at Kagome genuinely thinking that this bit of advice to be comforting; little did she know.

She cheerily went about clearing off the table, bid Kagome good night and left the poor girl to her thoughts.

'I guess that's the extent of the girls kindness.' She thought bitterly and glanced around the room. She grabbed her PJ's and changed in the corner then carefully slid into bed. Leaving one candle lit she then went about the task of trying to fall asleep.

'Fat chance,' she snorted to herself and pulled the covers up to her nose. She didn't know how strong her 'scent' was or anything about it so she figured she would cover up as much of herself as she could without suffocating.

She lay there watching the shadows and listening to all the strange noises she had never noticed before. It was the worst night sleep she had had so far. _'I'm sure if I could remember this would top my 'Worst Night Ever' list_.'

When she finally did get to sleep she was plagued with bad dreams and past memories that would elude her when she awoke.

She had the pleasure of waking to the sound of the door opening, which in turn scared her shitless.

"I've brought your breakfast. How did you sleep?" she asked not looking at the sleep deprived Kagome who was glaring at her with all the resentment she could muster.

Her bloodshot eyes were accentuated by a set of lovely bluish bags under them. If that wasn't bad enough her hair resembled something close to a nest. She was not a happy camper, not to mention a very scary looking unhappy camper.

Hitomi carried on taking no notice of Kagome's silence. She felt she had made some kind of connection with the human and was quite pleased about the progress.

"It's going to be a beautiful day, but you should probably stay in due to your precarious condition." She rambled on, which didn't really do anything to help Kagome's foul mood. She finally finished doing what needed to be done promising to be back with fresh water for her to wash up with.

"You'll want to stay as clean as possible so the males don't smell you."

"Oh I can't wait." She grumbled after Hitomi left.

She sat down and began to eat keeping an ever-watchful eye on the door so when Hitomi came back she wouldn't scare the living day lights out of her. Unfortunately when Hitomi did come back Kagome was making the bed. Jumpy to begin with when the servant abruptly entered, having to kick the door open due to her lack of hands, alarmed Kagome to say the least.

A startled Kagome flung the pillow she was about to set back in place up in surprise. Hitomi tried to protect herself from the flying object and ended up dumping the basin full of water all over herself, and to top it all off she was hit by the pillow making her fall over which caused her to drop the basin.

At the sound, one of the female guards came in to investigate. At the sight she found before her she joined Kagome in laughing hysterically.

Hitomi, who had recovered from the initial shock turned her death glare on Kagome and growled menacingly, her eyes turning red as her ire began to rise.

The guard, though still laughing recognized the warning signs and went to the fox girl to help her up but didn't let go once she was standing.

Kagome was trying her hardest to hold in her laughter but at the more than vicious look on the fox girls face she had to cover her mouth and turn around. Her shoulders heaved and she periodically snorted with mirth.

Hitomi was becoming so furious that the poor guard, who was holding in her own laughter, had to practically drag Hitomi from the room.

The moment they left Kagome let it all out and if she hadn't been laughing so hard she would have been able to hear some extremely colorful words leaving the furious Hitomi's mouth.

Finally calming down she realized she still needed to clean so she was accompanied to the lake she usually bathed in.

When she was finished she went behind a rock to dress. As she was doing up the last button of her shirt a thump came from behind her. Startled she spun around to find a man, well a fox youkai. Her eyes grew as wide as saucers and she began to back up, utterly afraid.

The youkai stared at her, looked her up and down and inhaled deeply.

* * *

Well I hope that you liked it, and hopefully you won't have to wait like a month for the next chapter. I promise I will try my hardest but exams, prom, graduation and the likes are coming up, which do take precedence over my story I'm afraid.

Anyway, I'm going to ask nicely this time for reviews. I was just a bit frustrated with my last chapter and took it out on you wonderful reviewers.

Looks up with big cat eyes (picture Puss in boots from Shrek 2)

Please forgive me…


	13. Chapter 13

Well, my word isn't as good as I thought it was. I'm really, really sorry about that. I could give you all my excuses but that doesn't really make up for the fact that I didn't get this up when I said I would.

There is one thing that I'd like to mention. At the beginning of the last chapter I pointed out a mistake on my part and then made the mistake again when I tried to fix it. Sometimes I wonder (shakes head sadly).

Anyway, here it is again.

"You remember what happened yesterday?" she nodded. "What were you doing at the well?"

* * *

Akage had been taking a long time…

* * *

"The Bone Eater's well…" 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"Well, you are in heat." He stated thoughtfully, "but I don't feel any different than I do when any of the other females are in heat." He put his hand to his chin and looked down at the ground considering this. "Huh."

When he looked back at her he flashed a dazzling smile, his bright blue eyes dancing playfully in the sun.

Kagome eased a bit and raised her eyebrow quizzically.

"So. Do I get an explanation?" she asked her guard still up.

"Oh, ha. Sorry. I'm Ori, a friend of Akage's. I was just doing a little favor for Lord Mitzubishi, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"A favor for Lord Mitzubishi? What kind of favor?" her suspicion flared.

He stood up straight and addressed her in a militaristic style.

"I'm sorry but I cannot give out that information." He paused briefly. "It's top secret," he winked and dropped the stance. Kagome couldn't help but giggle.

'But what is it the ever so thoughtful Lord Mitzubishi, put him up to I wonder.' She had a vague idea and was about to question him when he started talking again.

"So. Have you had any problems adjusting?"

"To staying here?"

"Oh, that too but no, I meant to your memory loss. Have you made any progress?"

A bit skeptical to the motive behind the line of questioning, _'Is it actually him who's curious or his highness.'_ She answered him none the less.

"Well, I have been remembering some things but just don't know what they mean." Her brow furrowed still perplexed by her regained memories. _'And feelings,'_ she thought a tad bitterly but then brightened. "But I think that I remembered something about where I'm from, which is what Akage left to find out." Her features darkened. "Leaving me here," she muttered.

Ori found that to be quite humorous. _'That's not the only reason.'_

As if Kagome was divining his thoughts she spoke up.

" I guess that wasn't the only reason," an embarrassed blush tinted her cheeks. Thinking of the way he acted around her and then realizing why he had done so helped her understand some of the looks (among other things) he had given her.

'He wanted me.' The slight blush turned to a furious red.

"Wow! Your face is almost as red as Akage's gets when _he's _embarrassed. That's amazing! And here I thought he was the only one with such a talent." He teased. Kagome's blush lessened.

"That's why he goes red, because he's embarrassed?" She thought about how often that happened. Ori laughed.

"He does it that much!" he sputtered incredulously.

Keeping up his joking façade he turned to his thoughts. _'Gods he's really far gone isn't he.' _He sighed mentally but continued to laugh outwardly.

Kagome's blush had fired up again and she was currently finding a slug making its way across the grass very interesting. _'Enough of this!'_ Desperately trying to think of something to change the subject a light bulb went off.

"Uh, so… How long have you known Akage?" _'Ha! That one always works!'_

" Well," he paused pondering the unexpected question. " Since we were kitsuns I guess." He smiled at the thought. "Oh I remember back when Akage was nothing but a little runt who had this huge mass of red hair." At this he fluffed his own up imitating the Afro Akage possessed as a child.

"Really!" Kagome laughed at the mental image and then chuckled to herself. _'Humh. I'm going to have to ask him about that when he gets back. A little payback won't hurt him.'_

Ori began to laugh. "You should have seen him when the others would make fun of it! He would get so angry, and then his face would turn red, the same color as his hair. And since he was mad his fur would, would bristle making his hair even bigger! He…he looked like a red fur ball!"

By the time Ori finally managed to get the story out he had tears in his eyes, one hand gripping his side, while the other kept his balance on a rock. Kagome was practically in hysterics over the insanely funny mental picture she had painted in her mind.

After a few more minutes the two had started to calm down and were presently gasping for air.

"Oh man those were good times." He sighed wiping away a tear. Kagome looked up at him still catching her breath.

"Will you tell me some more about you two growing up?" she asked, a little breathless.

He looked at her a bit taken aback by how child like the question sounded and was suddenly reminded of something he went to great pains not to think about.

"Hey. What's wrong?"

He blinked a couple of times, clearing away the image of a small fox girl he once knew.

"Oh nothing, nothing. Sorry about that." He brightened.

"Why don't I go tell…" he peeked around the corner to figure out who the guard was, "Naoko, that you're with me and I'll tell you all about the trouble we used to get into." Before she could say anything he had already disappeared behind the corner.

'What was that all about? And why would Naoko agree? I thought she wasn't supposed to let any males around me. She's not a very good guard if Ori got here without her taking any notice. ARGH! This is so weird!

'If Akage left because I'm in heat and ordered that all the males stay away from me AND assigned guards to make sure his orders are followed, why would Ori not be effected? Why would Naoko trust him? Why do I trust him? UGH!!! This doesn't make any sense!' She shook her head not sure of what to make of the whole situation.

Ori strolled around the corner, then stood at attention.

"Naoko has been informed and has given us leave." He grinned. Turning back around he motioned with his hand, "Come on."

She reluctantly started to follow him still trying to decide if she could really trust him. _'He did say he was doing Mr. High-and-mighty a favor.' _She shivered and watched Ori's retreating figure. _'Oh, stop it! You're just being paranoid. Stupid Hitomi's got you all wound up. Anyway, you didn't sense anything evil about his youkai jaki. Wait. Sense anything evil? What the hell am I talking about! Only those with spiritual or youkai powers can do that…right? At least I thought…Oh for Kami sake! I lost my memory how should I know. Everyone could very well have the ability to sense that type of thing!'_

She was brought out of her reverie when her foot got snagged on an uplifted root and she fell flat on her face.

Ori was by her side in no time. "Are you ok?" he asked with a hint of laughter.

"Um, yeah. Argiato." She thanked him as he helped her up. "I guess I should watch where I'm going more carefully." She stated sheepishly. _'Damn root!'_

"You do seem like the clumsy type, and should probably take your own advice." He winked at her after she sent him a shocked glare. "But don't feel too ashamed about it, everyone trips over that damn root."

Kagome's glare reverted to the innocent looking root.

Ori just chuckled, "Come on." He motioned to her again. "It's not too far from here." And with that they set off again.

'He did help you, I think that deserves a little trust. Plus, the fact that he is Akage's best friend gives him some credibility.' She smiled and continued to follow him.

As Ori said they reached their destination within a couple of minutes.

"We used to play here as kitsuns."

"Yeah, Akage's brought me here once before," she said looking around the well-worn area of woods, taking in the scene for a second time. Felled trees were used for seats or slanted against huge boulders to make small shelters, there were a few spots on the ground with the remains of charred wood from the fires, and ropes hung from a few of the trees that had been spared. There were also a few areas that had been quite obviously designated for practicing with weapons or sparring; the ground was marred with gouges and dents, some seemed to bare a striking resemblance to a certain red haired fox youkai. When she had pointed it out to said youkai he vigorously denied her observations, stating that it was just a coincidence that there were two triangular shaped imprints above some of the dents. Kagome smiled at the memory.

Ori on the other hand was a bit shocked at her confession.

"Really?" He couldn't hide the surprise in his voice. She looked over at him.

"He has told me a little about his childhood, and you. He said you had a knack for getting him into trouble." She raised her brows and gave him a sly grin.

Ori gave her a calculating stare.

"If Akage already told you about me, then why did you ask how long we had known each other?"

Kagome, taken aback by his dry tone, looked away. _'Damn!'_

"Uh, actually I asked you that so we could change the subject." She flicked her gaze back at him, finding herself a little nervous from his reaction. "My face felt like it going to burst into flames." She admitted feeling guilty.

Certainly not expecting that as an answer Ori laughed, feeling a little guilty himself.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to sound so harsh. I was just curious."

He could tell that she wasn't lying and had figured as much from the beginning but that little slip up had put him on guard.

* * *

Lord Mitzubishi was concerned over his son's actions and had been wary of the human girl ever since she first showed up. 

'Hell, we were all suspicious of her.'

Then, with Akiko's discovery he had become more so. But, his son brought up a very valid point, and it was decided that he be allowed to do with the girl as he saw fit.

* * *

Although the youkai lord was your stereotypical, hard ass leader, he was a good leader and for good reason. He knew his warriors, and he knew his tribe's males and females. He also knew his son, and was not only very aware of his animalistic instincts but of his feelings as well, which left him uncertain as to whether his son would be able to control himself. His father wasn't the only one.

* * *

With Akage preoccupied with the girl, the brief periods Ori got to spend with him the girl was usually their topic of conversation. Of course he wanted to learn about the girl, not only to quell his earlier suspicions but because she was human. It wasn't every day one came to stay with the tribe, and it was too damn intriguing not to ask about. But, after a while it wasn't hard to see that Akage had developed some kind of feelings toward her. 

'His eyes became softer at the mention of her, even if he was excited and speaking of her latest accomplishment - other than beaming with pride, the excitement in his eyes was softer somehow. You can even hear the affection in his voice.'

Ori had never joked around with Akage about liking the girl because he was afraid that his telltale blush would expose his true feelings, even if he viciously denied it. He wasn't even sure that Akage would deny the accusation.

He didn't have anything against humans. He didn't hate them, but he wasn't all buddy-buddy with them either. But like Akage's father, he didn't think that his best friend should get too attached to one. Akage was the prince after all and it was only fitting that he end up with one of his own.

To fool around with the girl would be one thing._ 'Thumbs up,'_ was something he would have normally said to Akage.

'If the girl wasn't staying with us, her presence known to all. And if it were just an occasional romp to relieve stress or something, where he didn't return all starry eyed.'

* * *

Lord Mitzubishi had sent someone out each day to 'monitor' the prince and his guests interactions. It was just a quick check-up twice a day. He had said he wouldn't interfere in their affairs, but he also said that if anything inappropriate were to happen there would be consequences. He really didn't want anything to happen and was just taking precautions to make sure nothing did.

When Akage came to him the day of his departure all hot and bothered saying that the girl was in heat, and then demanding that all the other male tribe members be kept away from her he obliged, pleased with Akage's course of action. There was just one question that he needed to be answered. WHY?

Mitzubishi had gone to Ori, knowing he was Akage's best friend. Ori was also someone that he held in high regard; despite the fact that trouble seemed to follow him like a dark cloud.

He explained the situation to Ori and asked for his help. Another upside to Ori was his personality he could make anyone feel comfortable around him.

"I do not know what my son has told you about the girl but I do know that he has told you about her. Akage says that she has gone in to heat and he was greatly effected by it, which is why he left and ordered that no male is to go near her while he's gone.

Now, I am not very sociable with the humans and do not remember being in the presence of one of the females whilst they were fertile. However, I am quite certain that the effect it has on male youkai would not educe a reaction such as the one my son exhibited. Presumably if it did, hanyous would undoubtedly make up the better half of the population." He frowned slightly at the thought of so much impure blood. _'We youkai need to keep our lines pure if we are to survive.'_

In his mind if something of that magnitude were to happen humans would be the ones to mate with the hanyou, them being the less moral of the two races'. _'Within a few centuries the hanyous bloodlines would be so diluted the offspring would be primarily human and may come to out number the youkai of this land.' _Not wanting to dwell on that unimaginable outcome he returned to himself and continued with his proposition.

"So, I need you to go to the girl to gauge your reaction. If my assumption is wrong and your better judgement is impaired there will be guards to sustain you. But if I am correct I will know that my son has become too attached to the girl, leaving us with a problem.

If you just appear before the girl she will most likely be frightened - seeing as she is aware of her situation, and then become suspicious when you do not react as she has been led to believe you will. If she becomes hostile toward you, just leave.

The guards will be informed of your task before hand so you need not explain yourself to them. If her reaction is less severe try to start a conversation with her, you may be able to find out what her feelings are for the boy."

He could forgive the boy if his instincts just got the better of him but he could sense that there was something more. _'For Akage to act in such a way there has to be'._ When they talked before he left, Akage's state was obviously caused, in part by sexual frustration (he had found himself in that same state on occasion), but the way he demanded cooperation from him for her protection; there was no ignoring that.

He silently prayed that Akage was right about the girl being the missing miko._ 'Perhaps he isn't as attached to the girl as I think. If he's fairly certain that she is indeed the miko he may have had enough sense to realize that he will have to let her go, and that there is no possible future for them.'_

* * *

In fact it was as though Kagome was the one who would decide the outcome. It all rest on her shoulders and feelings. 

If their feelings were mutual but they recognized their relationship as a precarious one and agreed that they would end it would be the best solution. If it was a one sided love then the pain would be considerable but a recovery would be inevitable. If their feelings were mutual and they wanted to continue what they had, that was were the problem lay.

* * *

'Girl, I hope you have enough wits about you to know what's happening here. I do not want to hurt my son but you do not have a future here with him and you will be forced to leave if the both of you do not come to your senses.'

"This information is vital in what is to become of this situation."

* * *

Ori understood the gravity of the situation, although he wasn't too thrilled about doing this kind of thing behind Akage's back, he agreed anyway. 

After being thanked he was left to prepare himself. He was actually excited to finally get a chance to meet the girl Midori. She seemed pretty interesting from the way Akage described her, and now that he had met her he wasn't disappointed.

* * *

After a slightly awkward silence Ori spoke up, smiling. 

"So, what exactly did Akage have to say about me - other than me being a trouble maker?"

Relieved that he was the one to come up with something to say, she paused.

"Well," her lips quirked. "He said that you joke around a lot and you tend to make an ass of yourself because of it"

Ori began to frown._ 'Just what did that jerk tell her?'_

Kagome saw his reaction and smiled.

"He also said that you have a contagious smile, and that you had a knack for turning any situation, no matter how dire around. Or at least shed some light on it. He said that even though it was you who got him into those dire situations he was glad that you had to face them together." She missed the small blush that graced his cheeks while she squinted her eyes trying to remember something else.

"He said something along the lines of you being a pain in the ass but a good friend none the less. Oh yeah! I distinctly remember him saying that your fighting skills rivaled his own but he surpassed you ten fold when it came to looks." She watched his reaction to the last statement with great amusement.

Ori's eyes turned into a squinty glare as he thought of his so-called 'bestfriend' and the profile Akage had given the girl of him.

"He would say something like that wouldn't he." He chuckled, "Conceited bastard."

"That's basically what I said," she grinned.

"Well I guess you can be the judge of that but when he gets back tell him that I'm the better looking one of this duo just to see what he does. Ah, I can see it now. He'll turn completely red, and if you're lucky his hair will puff up. That would be a good time to make a comment about him looking like a big red fur ball. That'll get him good. Heh, heh!"

"I'm definitely going to try that. I can't wait to see the look on his face!" she began mentally devising a plan.

The next little while consisted of Ori telling of all the pickles the boys had gotten into while Kagome laughed until her sides were sore and she could barely breathe.

After one side splitting tale, resulting in Kagome laughing herself off the log she was sitting on, she noticed markings on the underside of her makeshift seat. She studied them more closely and was surprised to find they were letters etched into the wood.

She ran her hand across them and traced them with her fingers. _'They're names. Akage, Ori, Suki."_

Ori had finished whipping away his tears by now and went over to her curious.

"What are you looking at?"

"Who's Suki?" she looked up. "Your name and Akage's are etched into this log, and someone named Suki. Who is she?"

The question was innocent enough and his reaction was quite unexpected. He froze, his eyes gone wide, losing all their previous laughter. His lips parted slightly. It looked like he had just seen a ghost.

Kagome not knowing what to make of his reaction jumped up from her crouching and whirled around thinking they might be in danger. When she found no threat she turned back to him.

"Ori, what's wrong?" her panic began to increase.

He blinked, clearing away the fog of memory that had clouded his vision to find a frightened Kagome.

"Ori?" she asked again her voice nervous.

"Midori, I - I'm sorry." He gave a short laugh. "That's twice in one day I've managed to scare you. I think that's got to be a new record for me, just meeting you and all." He smiled trying to cover up his unease. "Actually, now that I think about it there was one time…"

Kagome cut him off.

"What just happened? You looked like you just saw a ghost." _'He got that look after I said that name.'_ "Who is Suki," she asked again quietly.

This time at the mention of her name he didn't freeze, his eyes just grew sad.

* * *

Anyway, I hope it was ok. If you get confused about the points of view don't hesitate to ask about it. When I was typing it up I actually got really confused at some of the parts where I did a lot of switching back and forth so I completely understand. The lines are supposed to indicate the change in point of view and the double spaces are just going from dialoge to thought, but the ds is just between the lines. Does that make ANY sense or did I just confuse you more? Here's hopin' that you understood at least something that I was on about, if not do like I said before, give me an ear full.

Are the double spaces even showing up?


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry about the wait, I just recently posted my new fic, which has taken quite some time to sort out. There is also the fact that my life is in complete upheaval right now, which also means that there is the possibility that both fic updates will be a tad delayed. Sorry but there's definitely no helping that. This time it's sanity that comes before updates. **

**Anyway, here's the next chappie, it took a while to do but I hope that it's ok. Also, I'd like to thank my wonderful reviewers, it's so flattering to have someone compare my stuff to pro writing (blushes and grins like an idiot). Thanks Koraq! **

**Okay, shutting up now, enjoy!**

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

"Suki," he smiled half-heartedly as he spoke her name aloud.

Sitting down on the abandoned log he sighed feeling defeated; slouching slightly he rested his elbows on his knees.

"We were 'The Three,' or at least that's what we called ourselves. We were young and thought it sounded good at the time." His lips quirked, "little did we know."

"This was our base," he swept a vague hand over the area. "We used it for training and play, and all that fun stuff kids do. Akage, being the Prince, wanted to be a strong leader like his father. Gods he worshiped him back then."

Ori's gaze wasn't on her any longer, he was staring unseeing, vision clouded by the fog of memory. He didn't take any notice when Kagome sat beside him, and continued to listen quietly.

"I was to be his right hand man in everything. It was just the two of us at that time, maybe if Suki showed up a little sooner all the trouble we got ourselves into wouldn't have been so severe," he chuckled to himself. "But unfortunately as fate would have it she showed up with the remainder of her tribe after a devastating battle with the gecko youkai. Most of her tribe consisted of females and the males who couldn't participate in battle. Her father had died in the battle, which left her and her mother. Rumiko was devastated but Suki never cried over her father's death." There was a hint of something in the way he said the last sentence, like there was a secret hidden behind it.

"Akage and I were supposed to befriend the younger ones and help their transition go as smoothly as possible. Their ruler died so it took a bit of getting used to a new one. Suki adjusted pretty quickly, I guess because she didn't really care. She was so set on becoming stronger to avenge her father that it wouldn't have mattered if her new leader was a fish."

"We caught her spying on us one day while we were training. Having witnessed how devastating the after affects of battle could be we wanted to become the best and ensure that our tribe didn't suffer the same fate."

"She was a bit younger than us, and being cocky males we laughed when she said she wanted to train as well. I mean of course we laughed, not only was she younger, there was also the fact that she was a girl, and scrawny one at that."

"Well, she soon showed us that even though she was a scrawny little girl she wasn't weak." His words had grown softer and held a hint of pride.

"After that we became inseparable, 'The Three'. For the first little while Suki was all about training and getting stronger, but soon after we all began to lose our war mentality and returned to being kids. Humh," he smiled, one fang poking out over the ridge of his lip. "She proved to be quite the little troublemaker, she got us into as much trouble as I did. Now that I think about it there were very few times where we weren't in trouble."

He looked over to Kagome then, his eye's having taken on some of their former shine. It was short lived though as his smile faded with his next thought, and he looked away again.

"As we got older Suki started to become quite the vixen. With all the trouble we'd gotten into she'd proved herself a hundred times over, but it wasn't just me and Akage who noticed."

Akage's mother and father thought it was befitting that Suki become Akage's mate. She was loyal, determined, and dependable. True she was not one of the higher-ranking youkai but it was blatantly obvious that she was important to the Prince, which was a major plus.

Although Akage's parent's marriage had been arranged, Mitzubishi and Nomuna had fallen in love during their courting. Nomuna had no intention of forcing her son into an unwanted marriage, and it was clear that given more time Akage and Suki would fall in love on their own. There couldn't have been a better match; she was a very promising Queen even at the age of fourteen.

"They were right of course. That same year, things started changing. Akage would watch her when she wasn't looking, and he blushed a whole lot more around her then he used to. Suki didn't seem to notice for the first little while, but hell, even I could tell his feelings for her had changed." He shook his head causing a few pieces of hair to fall from their binding, obstructing Kagome's view of his eyes. A sad smile tugged at the corner of his lips in remembrance.

"I think she finally clued in when, one day, out of the blue, Akage kissed her."

"Suki and I were talking about...something," he gave a small shrug. _'I don't know if he doesn't remember or just doesn't want to talk about it.'_ Kagome silently debated.

"When all of a sudden I see Akage coming over with this look in his eyes, the one he gets when training, like all there is is his determination to succeed, and nothing else." His hand gave the slightest twitch, like he was restraining himself from clenching his hand in to a fist. "Suki turned around to see what I was looking at, and by that time Akage was right beside her. So she turned and Akage put one hand behind her neck and the other behind her back and kissed her right then and there. Right in front of me," he added more to himself. He straightened up and cocked his head to the side to talk to her face to face.

With feigned joviality he forced a chuckle. "He must have been spying on his parents to learn a move like that. It even had the same effect from what I gather the King and Queen were quite the passionate couple." His façade dropped completely, and Kagome was a bit worried at his complete change in countenance.

"Lord Mitzubishi was devastated when Nomuna died. He really changed a lot after that. He became cold and distant to Akage, spending more time with the warriors then with his own son." He quickly turned back to her.

"Don't get me wrong, Akage was heartbroken too, everyone was. Queen Nomuna was a truly great leader. But since Mitzubishi was finding some kind of solace in distracting himself with his duties, Akage had no one but the two of us." Spreading his hands apart he lowered his gaze down to them in what looked like regret.

"After the death of the Queen, Suki and Akage became closer, and everyone was so happy with the progress in their relationship, and the fact that one of the Queen's last wishes seemed to be following through."

"I feel bad for them, they didn't get much time alone after it spread through the tribe that they were together, and that she was Akage's intended; the Queen to be." He gave a rueful grunt.

"We were only fifteen for Kami sake, and Suki was fourteen, there was just too much going on, too much pressure. I mean even I was being hounded, so we would come out here to get away from it all. Unfortunately," he frowned, "we soon discovered that what we thought was our secret place wasn't so secret. That's when we started going into the neighboring lands, and hiding out in the forests." He 'humhp'ed again then continued on.

"Shortly after though, it was just Suki and Akage who would sneak off, I would stay behind and distract those from following them. They deserved their private moments." He stated and a much sadder note lilt his words. Then he sighed and dropped his head to rest his hands.

"And that's how it happened." His voice was muffled and Kagome had to strain to her his next words.

"She went ahead of him because we were being watched so closely, and we didn't want to make it too obvious that day. His father was in a bad mood." He said as though that explained everything.

"Suki had gone off to their designated meeting spot to wait for Akage. That was the last time I ever saw her alive. The last time I ever saw the mischievous little grin she would give you over her shoulder whenever she was going off to do something that could get her in trouble." His voice faltered, and this time his hands did clench with no restraint.

"The next time I saw her was when Akage came staggering in with Suki in his arms. I was being scolded by the King." He was off in his own little world of pain and loss again, reliving the death of one of his best friends.

"Her face was so pale, and she looked so small wrapped up in Akage's haori. I didn't even realize it was her until Akage laid her out before his father, and the smell of her blood hit me. She had bruises, and gashes all over her; she must have put up a good fight.

"Everyone was so stunned that no one knew what to do, but when I came to my senses and ran over to them Akage almost slit me open. That's when I saw that he was injured too. His lips were swollen, and he had long gashes all over that were obviously from a sword, and claws."

"Akage snatched her back up when I came over, and his haori fell open, and I could see her neck...there was - there was almost n-nothing left to it. I...it was all b...bitten, and shredded, I-I couldn't believe it was still attached." He audibly swallowed passed the lump that seemed to have lodged in his throat and hurried on, like the floodgates had been opened and couldn't be closed.

"She was covered in blood, and when Akage moved again her arm dropped out of her cover. It was a full of cuts and bruises but by her shoulder was five punctures..." he growled deep in the back of his throat.

"That's their signature, or his at least," he all but spat. "The ones he leaves alive or doesn't have enough time to finish depriving of their flesh and blood. They all have those puncture wounds. Masimo..." the name was dripping with venom, and Ori was back to growling in remembrance, his jyaki flaring.

Kagome was shocked by what was just revealed to her. A cold chill crawled down her spine, and her flesh prickled as she shuddered at the somewhat familiar description, unconsciously rubbing her own healed wounds. Not to mention the strange feeling she got when Ori really started growling.

Ori's growling stopped suddenly as he picked up on her unease and he mentally cursed himself for letting his mouth run away with him. Still off from reliving such a painful experience he had unwittingly dug up, he put on a brave face for her.

_'She didn't need to know all that about Suki. Shit! And she's already encountered Masimo for herself, you just have to keep brining up the past don't you. Look at all the good it does you.'_ He reached over and tried to comfort her but she shied away, then blushed at her rudeness.

"Sorry, I'm...it's just, well, I don't really remember what happened to me but the wounds you spoke of, I have them and the mention of that name makes my skin crawl," she shivered just at the thought of him. He offered a small smile.

"I should be the one apologizing for letting my mouth run away with me. I swear it would probably do me, and others, a lot of good if I just kept it shut most of the time."

She was glad that his earlier self was resurfacing, and that he was trying to lighten the mood, but there were still a few things she still need to find out. She looked down at her hands feeling guilty for bringing up the obviously painful subject again.

"So Masimo murdered Suki but spared Akage. I don't understand." She asked feeling, not for the first time, very childish. Ori's lips set in a grim line, and his brows drew together, his eyes looking as though they had turned black with hate.

"They _spared_ him because they thought it would be amusing to leave him to suffer with the knowledge that he couldn't save her. It was all a game to them!" his voice had risen considerably, and he had to take a moment to compose himself.

"I asked Akage what happened sometime after but he didn't come out and say it at first, it took him a few days before he told me. He said he was on his way to meet her when he smelled her blood."

He had frantically searched for her and in his panicked state failed to take note of the unfamiliar demons' scents. When he did find her, she was huddled in a small cave formed by the roots of a tree beaten and bloody. Before he could help her, he was attacked by Masimo, and with her cover blown Batabaka pulled Suki out of hiding and forced her to watch the fight. It didn't last long. Akage was left in the same state as Suki, and subjected to the same show, only this time he got to watch Masimo try to violate his future mate, and then rip her neck open when she fought against him. He was then treated to the special feature where Masimo turned to him and smiled before he leaned down and started biting chunks out of her neck. He smiled, face dripping with her blood and gore, and told the helpless young prince that his woman was delicious, that it was too bad he would never get a chance to taste her the way he had, because he was too weak to save her.

The look on Ori's face as he recounted what his friend had told him, was that of sick horror and hate.

"They toyed with them, made them watch the other be beaten, and then they made him watch while that sick bastard killed her and started eating her." His voice had begun to tremble with grief.

"Then they left him there with her dead body laughing, laughing because they'd murdered his future mate in front of him; laughing because he couldn't stop them; laughing because she died in fear. They just kept laughing!"

"Gods she was so beautiful and full of life, and they just - they just ended it like it wa...was meaningless," he finished miserably. His breath hitched, and his head sank back into his hands, while his back shook with silent sobs.

Kagome was stunned, not just because she had learned of the gruesome death of the fox girl named Suki, and the horror Akage had been witness to, but also because Ori was crying. Full realization dawned on her. He stilled and sat up straight, turned away from her and wiped the remaining moisture from his eyes with the heels of his palms. When he finally faced her again his cheeks were tinged pink not due to crying.

"Uh," he said nervously. "Midori, I uh, I haven't talked about that for a while. I don't usually do, um, that, and..." she stopped him.

"Hey. Don't worry, I wont say anything." Her voice was soft, and reassuring. His cheeks had turned a few shades darker.

"Uh, thanks." He looked down and turned again, this time to gather up what was left of his dignity. _'Kami, I can't believe I just cried! I haven't shed a tear since Suki's death, and here I am crying like a baby in front of a human girl that I hardly know! Fuck this is embarrassing!'_ he inwardly groaned.

He made to speak when Kagome beat him to it with something quite unexpected.

"You were in love with her." It wasn't a question; it was a sad statement accompanied by a sad look.

It was Ori's turn to be stunned yet again by the girls' questions.

"Yes," he wasn't really aware that he said anything until it was out of his mouth.

"Did Akage know?"

"No."

"Did Suki know what you felt for her?"

"No."

"How long?"

"From the first moment she brought me to the ground, and put her foot on my chest, and glared down at me with her arms crossed." A sad smile flicked across his lips.

"It must have been hard for you to be in love with her and not be able to do anything about it," she said quietly, an unknown hurt clutching at her chest.

Ori took note of how sad she looked, and when their eyes met he swore he could see something in their depths that his own eyes mirrored.

"But Suki and Akage were happy, even if it was short lived, and that's all I ever wanted for them. To be happy."

They both gave each other a slight understanding smile.

Kagome didn't know how, but knew that they had made a connection on some level, and she was glad.

Ori took a deep breath. "Now, enough of all this depressing stuff. Come on and lets get something to eat." She agreed, and they made their way back in a companionable silence, both lost in their own thoughts.

**Weh-hell, how about that, Mr. Doubting Mustafa? **

**Does anyone know what I'm talking about? It's a quote from "Aladdin." It may not be accurate, the 'doubting Mustafa' part, but that's what I thought its said. Actually, I haven't watched it for a while so the whole thing could be wrong...anyway. **

**Did you like? It's been such a long time since I got into this story I hope it wasn't a disappointment. Finally it's starting to move along. I was really stuck there with how I was going to explain Suki. She wasn't even going to be Akage's woman, it was really a toss up between making the one who died at the hands of Masimo Akage's mother, sister, brother, or girlfriend. I tossed all the other ones because if it was family then Mitzubishi would have been out looking too, so girlfriend it was! Oh, his mom just died, she wasn't murdered (if anyone was wondering).**

**Okie dokie, that's enough out of me, I'm bushed, and I hear my futon calling my name. I bet if you listen you'll be able to hear it too...(crickets) **

**Maybe I'm the only one after all. Hmmm... **

**Well hoped you liked and I'll definitely try to get the next chapter of my other fic up soon. I'm going to try to rotate my updates: one from this fic, one from the other. See where I'm going with this? **

**Anyway, if you've got any questions don't hesitate to ask em'!**


	15. Chapter 15

Um…ahaha? Long time no write? Yes. Yes it has been.

I seriously don't know how any one can write more than two fics at a time without going insane! I've only got two and trying to balance them out is friggin hard work!

Well, enough complaining let's get down to business.

* * *

CHAPTER 15

After Kagome and Ori's little heart to heart, Ori was more than a tad reluctant to have to go to the king and tell him about his findings. Now that he'd actually talked to her, and gotten to know her a little she seemed to be a genuinely good person - as far as humans went - and she didn't look too bad for a human either, which in Ori's opinion was always a plus. He could see why Akage would warm up to her, and in the small way she did remind him of Suki, it was probably another reasons as to why Akage found her so appealing. Although Ori shared the same view there could never be another Suki, no matter how close the similarities.

When he reported back to Mitsubishi he at least expected him to exhibit some form of dissatisfaction but his over all reaction was calm as he digested the information, which scared Ori more than any of the scenarios he had come up with.

With Kagome in the clear of being attacked she was allowed some more freedom, as long as there was some form of supervision (_'Surprise, surprise…' _was something that crossed her mind when she was informed of this new leniency). Which came in the form of Ori, because - the way Mitsubishi saw it - there was no reason to suspect any kind of hidden motive from the boy.

The next day when Kagome had finished her morning ritual of breakfast and bathing, Ori took her for a walk (_'more like a hike,' _Kagome thought a little bitterly) through a part of the forest she had never been to. Not that that was saying much because even with Akage she wasn't really allowed to stray too far from the tribes grounds, and from her guess: this was a lot further than she had ever been.

The excursion had been a lot of fun with Ori keeping her entertained with countless stories, none of which pertained to the mentioning of Suki. Neither of them wanted to bring that up.

It wasn't until they reached a small stream and decided that taking a break would be nice that the mention of Akage and the status of his feelings were brought up.

"Ori…" she asked reluctantly. "The other day, why didn't you, you know, get all, ah…" she trailed off looking for the right word.

"Why didn't I act like Akage did?" he supplied.

"Yeah. I was under the impression that that was what all the males were going to act like, if not worse. As some led me to believe," she scowled to herself, recalling Hitomi and her less than comforting explanation of her 'precarious situation.'

Ori had to hide his smile at the girl's dark look and amusing pout. Akage had told him about the little incident between Midori and the servant, Hitomi, and he was certain that there must have been a few other mishaps between the two if he was reading Midori's expression right.

Kagome mentally shook herself out of that particular memory, only to have her face heat up a little as the memory of Akage's reaction took it's place, which in turn brought her back to the here and now, and the slightly embarrassing conversation she was having with Akage's best friend.

"Well," Ori was beginning to feel a little embarrassed himself as it wasn't really his place to spill the beans about Akage's feelings for her. "It's hard to say exactly…it could have been a number of things," he cleared his throat nervously. He had a feeling that this line of questioning was going to come up but it still didn't make it easier to talk about.

"He was the first male to be around you when you went into…heat, right?" she shook her head slowly to confirm.

"It could be something that happens right at that exact moment," he offered, but it didn't look like she was buying into that explanation. He didn't blame her.

"It could be that Akage is coming into his time and you were the only female around, who just happened to go into heat, and it was too much for him to handle, so he had to leave before something unfavourable happened." _'That sounds more plausible,'_ he thought, quite proud of himself. But when he looked over to gauge her reaction he was surprised to find her fixing him with a look so cold that he should have froze on the spot.

"The only female around? Something unfavourable? And just what is that supposed to mean!" she blurted incredulously.

"Wow! Calm down…" she cut him off.

"Are all youkai so dead set against any kind of involvement with humans?" she demanded. Ori couldn't help but retort.

"No! It's just that Akage is the prince and it's only right that he should fall in love with one of his own and take them as a mate, not a human girl."

There was a slightly awkward silence as both of them mulled over what was just said. Ori realized his mistake right away.

'_Oh Gods! Why the hell did I have to say that? Taking everyone's advice and keeping your big mouth shut would have been very helpful in such a fucking delicate situation. Way to go!' _He mentally berated himself. Kagome, on the other hand had a very different take on what was just said.

'_Did he…did he just say what I think he said?'_ eyes wide, hand half way up to her lips in complete shock, she turned her gaze back to him as realization dawned on her.

"That's why? You think that's why he acted so strange because…" her face was already beginning to heat up.

"I-I don't know," he stuttered, his own face picking up some of the heat.

Kagome, with a hundred stunted questions, was about to try and voice some when she froze as a strangely familiar tingle washed over her.

Ori, feeling as though he had come up with an explanation was just about to break the silence when Kagome's hand shot out and grabbed his arm.

"There's something coming this way," she stated hurriedly before she got up, pulling Ori with her. Watching her nervous movements and the strange look she had on her face he figured that there was something definitely wrong.

"Why didn't I bring my bow and arrows!" she hissed, frustrated at the fact that she had left them behind.

"Can you use them? I thought that you just started practicing the other day?" Ori's couldn't keep his curiosity at bay, even in their current situation.

She just seemed to get all the more upset.

"I don't know! I think that if I at least had them I could try. I know I could do it," she finished more to herself, though Ori caught it. About that time his senses picked up on the youkai that was racing towards them.

"Get behind that rock over there. Akage would never forgive me if I let something happen to you."

She just made it behind when a very large, very dangerous looking youkai burst through the trees. The tingling she was feeling before intensified into a sort of pulse as the beast moved closer, now coming in steady beats.

Swivelling its massive horn tipped head from side to side trying to spot the beings that it had picked up on. It was hungry; a hunger that the poor dumb beast couldn't quell, no matter how much it ate, no matter how much it destroyed.

The small jewel fragment it had shoved into its chest, right over it's heart, was taking control turning a youkai that once had a voice, had a mind of its own into a blood thirsty, power hungry animal with one thing on it's clouded mind. Must get more jewel shards. And that was what pushed it on, destroying anything that obstructed its path.

Roaring as it spotted Ori, it charged, giving Kagome a full view of its chest. That's when she noticed it. _'What is that glowing light coming from its chest? Does Ori see it?'_

Something was definitely nagging at the back of her mind, _'I should know what that is! It's…it's…'_ the completed shard flashed through her mind followed by it being shot and the pieces streaking through the sky.

'_Shikon no tama…' _a woman's voice whispered, causing her skin to prickle. Then a wholly different voice, a males' voice, rang in her ears.

'_You're just a jewel detector…'_

She pushed away from the tree with a gasp as a sharp pain that accompanied the voice shot over her own chest. She wasn't sure how such an enraging comment could make her feel so hollow.

Coming back to herself she watched as the two youkai went at it, still feeling somewhat detached from the small bit of memory regained.

Ori took a blow to the chest and went flying back towards her. She dashed out to help him.

"Are you ok? Oh gods, that's a deep cut!" Ori waved her off before telling her to get back behind a tree.

"Ori, listen to me! Its chest!" she yelled as he headed back into battle. "There's something in its chest! By its heart, there's a-a jewel shard!" Both youkai stopped in their tracks. "He has a piece of the Shikon no tama."

Ori didn't turn around, he knew better than that, but now the beasts' attention wasn't focused on him anymore.

'_Shit, Midori!'_

It had already changed its course.

Ori kept it at bay for a while longer but at the mention of the jewel its sights were now set on Kagome.

'_It's coming after me now! How do we get out of this? If only I had brought the stupid bow and arrows I could help in some way. Ori's holding his own but I don't know how much longer he can last fighting against that thing.'_ She looked around wildly, trying to find something, anything that would be of some use in slaying the demon. That was when she heard it howl in enraged pain.

Ori had left a nasty gash in its chest but not close enough to dislodge the jewel fragment, which left them with a very large, very angry youkai with a piece of the shattered jewel increasing it's power; who didn't appear to want to back down from the fight.

Eyes flaring red, it charged again, narrowly missing Kagome's hiding place behind a tree. Luckily for her the lessons Akage had taught her did pay off, in the sense that her reaction time for dodging out of the way wasn't as delayed, as it would have been, which left her alive for the time being.

Landing on her stomach wouldn't have been so bad if the wind hadn't been knocked out of her leaving her gasping and vulnerable for attack.

She heard Ori yell her name and then the sound of the beasts' cry as Ori stabbed him through the back, piercing its heart before it dropped to the ground.

She rolled over still coughing and clutching her stomach just in time to see Ori race over to her side.

"Are you hurt? Are you bleeding?" he did a quick once over to make sure she was none of those things before he helped her up.

"Ariagto," she wheezed, as she took his hand and let him lead her over to a rock.

"Your wounds!" she exclaimed, still a little breathless. "We need to stop the bleeding, and get those cleaned up before the get infected."

"In – what'd?" shaking his head at her strange choice in words, he tried to wave off her concern. "There not that serious, they should be healed in a few hours." He stated as casually as he could.

"You all say that just because you don't want to look weak, when you know you're in pain," she grumbled. "Still, just please let me have a look at them? It'll make me feel like I'm not completely useless." He didn't protest this time understanding her reason, and removed his shirt, sucking in his breath as he pulled out of it because it really had hurt.

They moved over to the stream to clean his wounds with pieces of her already tattered blouse. They fell into a reflective silence, both re-living the attack.

"Midori. You said something back there about the youkai having a jewel shard. How did you know? I mean you even told me where it was on his body."

"So you didn't see it?" Ori shook his head. "I don't really know…I just…it kind of just came to me. That feeling I had just before the demon came was so strange, I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It was like the beating of a heart or something," she tried to explain. "And then when the youkai turned around I saw this glowing right above its heart, and its name just came to me: Shikon no tama.

"I'm not sure how I know but I think that maybe… I'm connected to it somehow. Does that make any sense to you?" she asked, a little bewildered at her own thoughts, when suddenly her eyes got big and bright with excitement.

"Do you know anything about a Shikon no tama? Have you ever heard of it before? Maybe it will help me find out who I am…"

"Hold on a second. Slow down…I have heard of it before. I don't think that there are many, youkai or human, that haven't heard of it and its power. I don't know the whole story but from what I understand, after the priestess who watched over the jewel died, the jewel lay dormant for fifty years but then, within this last year, it reappeared. The kicker though was that it got broken and the jewel shards were scattered all over the land. Now there are all kinds of beings searching for the pieces so they can make it whole again because it is said to grant the holder one wish." Ori leaned back as far as his injuries allowed him, with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Oh the things I could do with that if I ever got my hands on it."

"Don't even joke about that Ori," she demanded, deadly serious. "I don't think it will bring anyone, anything but misery." Frowning at her own vehemence on such an unknown topic to her, she couldn't help the shiver that raced up her spine at the thought of being in any way connected to the ominous jewel.

Just the way she said it and the look in her eyes made it clear to him that this was indeed the priestess Akage had thought her to be. Even if she didn't realise now, all the signs pointed to yes. Her being able to see the shard was pretty much a dead, give away, and the way she reprimanded him for even entertaining the idea, served to only further his conviction. _'Speaking of the jewel. We ought to go get the shard before something else does.'_

After putting his thoughts to words they made their way slowly back. Kagome nervously stepped up to the corpse as the strange sensation washed over her for the second time that day. Not wanting to look into its eyes, she focused on its bloody chest, which didn't bring her any more comfort. The shimmering blackish, purple aura guided her to the resting-place of the tainted jewel fragment.

She reached out tentatively when the slight tingle rocketed to a full-blown beat, momentarily stunning her with the force.

"Shikon no tama…" the youkai rasped in a deep, throaty voice before it grabbed her out stretched arm pulling her off the ground as it pushed its way up.

"Shikon…Shikon…" it repeated as its voice gained power, and its body gained strength. He grabbed her with his other hand around the middle making her cry out in pain.

Ori lunged at him but was batted away by the beasts newly freed hand. He was about to attack again when he caught a familiar scent then hurriedly jumped out of the way just as Akage burst through the foliage, sword raised high.

Letting loose his war cry, the beast didn't even have a chance to turn before he was cut in half; the jewels shard fell to the ground as it was dislodged, and its host exploded into dust.

Akage smoothly intercepted Kagome before she plummeted to the ground. Their landing though, lacked the initial grace.

As they rolled to a stop, Kagome took her time opening her eyes. Everything had happened so fast, not to mention the fact that her ribs felt like they were going to be permanently crushed, and she would never breath normally again. It was strange how the not breathing part was still in effect. That's when she opened her eyes to see Akage staring down at her with worry etched all over his face.

"Midori, are you ok! Are you hurt?" when all he got was a wheeze his eyes grew wider with sudden fear. "Midori!" A pathetic slap on his arm confused him as he glanced down moving his body slightly.

"Gehof...meh…" she forced through her laboured breathing as some of the weight that was squishing her let up.

"OH!" Akage immediately jumped off giving the poor girl some space. Coughing, yet again, she managed to push herself up when Akage assisted her the rest of the way.

"What a crazy day," she managed with a slight turn of the lips. "I was almost killed twice, saved twice, and somehow I managed to get squashed…twice." Then she broke into another coughing fit.

* * *

Ok, so how was that? I think that I did a pretty good job, considering I didn't have any beta type help this time around. I suppose it could be worse, and I could be writing like I used to where there was not a paragraph to be found. Ah, the good old days…

Anyhow, I've finally got this one up and the next one will be posted shortly, as I am in the process of completing it now just need to get some things straight and I should be all set. I'd give it a week at the most…maybe…hopefully…

Ah heh heh…?


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16**

'_I thought that if I left, things would get better, and now they've only gotten worse!'_

"So, explain to me again how you got into this mess."

Akage's patience was wearing thin.

"Akage, how many other ways do you want me to put it? I made a stupid mistake. I should have never taken her out so far. I might be the one who's more sorry about that out of the three of us."

"And what is that supposed to mean!" the calm Akage was trying to keep himself under was quickly dissipating.

"What do you think it means? I've talked to the girl, gotten to know her a bit. She's not half bad for a human - " the faintest growl made it to Ori's ear.

"You're right; she's not." The fierceness behind his words did nothing to quell Ori's fear of the truth.

"Listen to me Akage. She's the one she's the priestess. Even you can't deny that after what you saw today, and if you tried to I would have to seriously hurt you for being such a baka.

"She saw the shard, Akage," he tried, not wanting this to escalate into something that both of them would regret. "She felt it's presence, and when she picked it up it changed. She is the priestess, and you have to do what's right and help her find where ever it is that she belongs. You know you do." There was a stretch of silence before Ori decided to venture further.

"So…did you find anything?" he prayed that Akage didn't catch the hint of hopefulness in his voice. He really did just want the best for his friend.

"I learned the location of the bone eaters well. I didn't see it for myself but I'm certain that I can find it. There's a village not far from there but I was…sidetracked and decided to come back, which is a good thing I did, which brings me back to my original question; what were you thinking? I still don't understand why you…" he trailed off as a flush crept up his cheeks to turn into an angrier red.

"Father put you up to it didn't he! I thought that we had an understanding," he said more to himself. "That bastard! And you went along with it! How the hell could you do that to me Ori! Of all the people, I didn't think that you would be the one to go behind my back," he spat.

"What if you did something to her! He didn't know what would happen-"set in place.

"What is going on with you? We both apologized for disobeying your orders. Here, I'll say it again. Akage, I'm sorry. It wont happen again, I promise." She finished with a small smile to try to placate his unforgiving countenance. He just continued to stare over her head.

"Or you can continue being a jerk and not except my apology!" she shouted, spinning around to finish the journey to her room alone.

"Don't you know you could have been killed!" came from behind her, and as much as she wanted to say something in return she decided that she would just give him a taste of his own medicine and ignore him.

She could hear him coming up behind her and was preparing herself for anything when he grabbed her arm and spun her around. The heat in his eyes killed whatever indignant exclamation was on the tip of her tongue.

"That youkai was going to kill you, and if I didn't show up when I did, it would have!" he shouted down at her, his grip never leaving her arm.

"What do you want, a thank you? Fine! Thank you Akage for saving my life from a most certain, excruciatingly painful death! Thank you Akage for making me feel worse about this then I already do! Thanks for taking the time to consider that I might have been as scared as you were, if not a hundred times more confused! Thanks for asking me about how I felt instead of just shoving the facts in my face, that was really considerate of you," she hissed.

The beginnings of tears stood in her eyes as she continued. "You want more?" Akage was glaring at her but did let go of her arm.

"Thank you," she ground out before stomping through the remainder of the foliage as smoothly as she could with the waning light.

'_Damn it! Why can't she understand?' _he thought viciously as he followed after her. He was trying to keep himself together and focus on his urge to protect her so that it might take over his urge to bed her. Unfortunately all that was resulting in was making him dwell on the fact that she almost died, and how much it was pissing him off that she didn't quite get the picture.

"Quit following me!" she hollered back at him "We're on friendly grounds now, right? Or do you think that another Shikon shard wielding youkai is going to attack us here too?" she demanded over her shoulder.

Getting a slight shiver from even mentioning the jewel, her thoughts drifted back to the unnerving sliver she had in her possession, along with the now fading voice of a stranger. _'But he's not a stranger, I know that voice, I've heard it before in my head. But…'_ a sad smile touched her lips. _'But why does it make me feel so empty?' _

Great full that she made it too her room without further incident, she quickly shoved the door open and tried to close it when Akage stopped her progress.

"What Akage, what? I'm tired," she pleaded with him, "and I'm sore, and I'm confused, and I just don't want to do this right now." She desperately hoped he got the message. But when he pushed the door the rest of the way open she was very disappointed to see that he had not.

Frustrated beyond belief she threw her hands up.

"ARGH! What didn't you understand about what I just said? I want you to – "

"It's you that doesn't understand!" he yelled, his body and mind warring. _'It was too close, just too close.' _

"I think it's you who doesn't understand! I don't want you here!" she screamed, jabbing her finger at the door.

"This is my castle and I'll be where ever I want to be!" he retorted childishly. " And I want to be here with you."

"Well that's too bad pal. I-don't-want-you-here," she stated darkly.

The look in his eyes changed then, and it wasn't exactly one she particularly liked. It made her think of the youkai after she mentioned the Shikon no tama, like everything was trained on her, or maybe it was trained on the jewel fragment? There was something else there too she just couldn't quite figure it out.

"I want you, Midori, to – "

"You want me to what, huh? Give you the Shikon shard? Better yet, why don't I go out and help you find the rest of them and be your personal 'Jewel Detector', just like – like…" and there it was, right on the tip of her tongue. The name that she could never remember that eluded her time and again, the name she was looking for even when she didn't know she was looking. _'Why can't I remember! Just like who?' _she thought miserably.

"I want you!" he shouted savagely, bringing her out of her reverie when he stepped closer grasping her shoulders.

"I want you," he stated again, voice and eyes lowered. "I need you."

"We had the best females keeping watch. They would have intervened if things started to get out of control-"

"What are you talking about, you know you could have taken them out given the right incentive, and I know it would have been there."

"Hey, just wait a fucking minute! I'm not the one who's lusting after a human girl. I'm not the prince, and future leader of this tribe. Just what did you think would happen if you took this girl as your mate, huh? That everyone would except it with open, fucking arms? Think about what your father would do. We both have a pretty good idea of what he's capable of doing, and I for one don't think he would tolerate having a human in the family."

"When did I ever say that I wanted to take her as my mate!"

"Please, whoever can't see that your ass over tail in love with her is a fucking blind mute, with shit for brains."

"I'm not in love with her," he forced, trying to make it sound true to his own ears.

"Then you're all of the above," he stated tiredly. "Akage, you can't keep her. Midori - whoever she is - she has another life, and I think that she plays an important part in it. To be able to see the shikon shards…you've heard the rumors. That was even your first guess as to who she was…" he trailed off as Akage spun away from him heading over to the girl.

Kagome; dutifully staying out of their confrontation after she was all but told to stay put or else, had done her part keeping busy tending to her own wounds and letting the crazy events of the day sink in. Or she was until Akage stormed into the small, secluded area he had deemed worthy for her.

"Come on, were going."

"Isn't Ori going to come too?" she was a little concerned (not to mention more then a tad angry) at Akage's current countenance. _'Even if his over all mood has improved, he's still acting like a jerk,'_ she thought while following behind.

"He's coming later," he shot back darkly.

Deciding now would be the perfect time to go into reflection she stayed there for the rest of the long way back to the castle.

While Kagome was deep in thought Akage was having trouble keeping his thoughts straight.

'_What was I thinking? I don't _know_ what I'm thinking anymore…'_

After being fortunate enough to gather some information; however vague it had been, on the first day of his search, he followed it travelling through the night and next day. As he neared what he thought to be the area his unreliable source had been trying to describe, he came upon a few villagers. Doing as he had to the rest of the humans he had come across and just passing them by, he stopped cold when the mention of the name he - on some level - feared hearing.

Inuyasha, the half breed son of the great inu taisho; the disgraceful hanyou who went after the shikon no tama, and got himself pinned to a tree by the priestess Kikyo; loved, feared, and hated by youkai and humans alike. The same Inuyasha who was awoken 50 years later, said to be travelling with a miko in search of the fragments of the shattered jewel; a miko that was more than likely in his general possession at the moment.

The way the villagers were talking about him made Akage all the more unnerved. The drastic change in the once tolerable hanyou … the hanyou that was at this very moment in the village.

That knowledge had upset him and made him irrationally panicked. He was being presented with the perfect opportunity to find the truth. Was this human girl that he had been taking care of for over a fortnight really a miko? Was she - the one who baffled him and made him feel things he didn't really think he could ever feel - one of the girls in-which Inuyasha traveled with?

He suddenly didn't want to know. All he wanted to do was go back to the mystery girl and tell her that he couldn't find anything that it was useless to look for something that didn't matter anymore. She was Midori. She had a place to stay, and there were people who cared about her and that should be all that she needs. Of course he realized how extraordinarily selfish that was, but by then he had already sped out of that particular neck of the woods and was making his way back to his home. Where he stumbled upon his best friend and strange new friend engaged in battle with a shikon wielding youkai; a scene that hit too close to home.

Never had he wanted to witness anything like that ever again.

After momentarily reliving one of the most traumatizing experiences in his life, he narrowly saved this girl from the same fate as the first, to come to find that the main reason he had left was still as much of a problem as it had been.

'_Well…almost as much of a problem.' _Her scent was stilltantilzing but there was something, some component suppressing the inebriating, over all effect. And then he had it. It made complete and total sense: his fear. His fear for her life, that was what was somehow holding his primal urges at bay. _'My want to protect her quells that part of me…'_ he marveled.

Unfortunately for Akage, with each un-threatened step they took he began to realize that this new development was in a way like that feeling when you rush into battle. It helps you out, giving you that extra edge but after all is said and done and the danger has passed, so does that feeling slowly making you aware of the after math, which usually came in the form of pain. And again a more pleasurable pain was making itself known to the poor fox youkai. _'I'm doomed…'_ he thought bitterly as the girls scent tickled his nose.

* * *

Their trek back to the castle was finally coming to an end. _'Finally!'_ Kagome thought with a tired sigh…and then walked into Akage's back.

"Geeze! You could have let me know you were going to stop Akage. You know, given me some warning before I smashed my nose into the brick wall you call your back," she grumbled, glaring at it, as he still hadn't turned around.

Huffing loudly before she side stepped, and came around to face him with her most annoyed glare

She was at a loss for words, for breath, for _anything; _her mind was a complete blank. Of all the things she thought he could have said, that would have been the last thing on the list.

He shook her again, gently "I need you."

The look in his eyes, the pleading in his voice touched her in such a way she couldn't begin to fathom. It was like she had been waiting to hear those words all her life, and when he let go of her arms and held her face in his hands with as much care as he could muster, it didn't matter that there was something just under the surface that protested. Nothing mattered when he used the pads of his thumbs to brush away the few tears that had fallen, escaping her notice. When his lips brushed against hers in her first kiss, her knees went weak. And when his arms encircled her, she could do nothing but let him be her support as she fell forward into the kiss deepening it.

A few more tears fell silently, and Akage pulled back, kissing them away. His breathing was uneven, sending tiny shivers across the wet tracks left by her tears, in turn sending shivers over the expanse of her skin. That was all it took; her soft gasp, the barely noticeable quiver of her body, the subtle shift in her scent, Akage couldn't help what happened next.

* * *

Ok, I know I don't usually leave you guys with evil cliff hangers but this is pretty much up to the point of where I'm stuck and I figured it would be ok to get something then nothing at all, right? Thank all of you soooo much for you patients and support, every little bit helps. 


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